It's Me and Emily
by NoDaybutTooDay
Summary: COMPLETE. When House discovers that Chase has a daughter, he decides it's time to find out what else he doesn't know about Chase. House/Chase friendship.
1. Chapter 1

_Hello everyone! Welcome to the new story. I have a one-shot by the same title, but this is going to be a little different than that one - and a lot longer. It's going to explore Chase's past and will be House/Chase friendship. I hope that you all enjoy it!!_

There was a high school like feud going on between two of the doctors in ICU and Chase was sick to death of listening to the two of them fight and then run around, trying to convince everyone else that they were the ones who were right. So he decided to hang out in Diagnostics for awhile. House's new team was busy running tests on their newest patient, so House and Chase were alone in the conference room. House was playing on his PSP and Chase was doing crossword puzzles.

A nurse from the ER cautiously poked her head into the room. "Dr. Chase! I've been looking everywhere for you!"

Both doctors looked up at the nurse. "What is it?" he asked. He didn't know what her name was, she was relatively new to the ER.

"There was a fire at your apartment complex. Your nanny and daughter are downstairs!" she told him. Chase was out the door faster than House had ever seen him move. House looked up at the nurse.

"Did you just say his nanny and daughter were downstairs?" he asked. She nodded. "What room?" he asked. She told him that they were in room 147 and then followed Chase. House waited half a second before following them.

How had Chase worked for him for three years without House knowing that he had a kid? He wasn't married, he knew that. On all of his forms, he was listed as single. He got on the elevator, thinking hard about how Chase could have his own child. He wondered how old the kid was.

Getting into the ER, he saw many victims of the apartment fire. Most were being treated for smoke inhalation. Cameron was no where to be found. He quickly found room 147 and looked inside. A young woman (obviously the nanny) was sitting on a chair. Her face was smoky, except where her tears had formed tracks down her face. She had an oxygen mask over her mouth. Chase was holding a small child, maybe three or four, also covered in smoke and also with an oxygen mask. The little girl was a carbon copy of Chase. The same blond hair, same blue green eyes, same face structure.

He was hugging the small child close, while he had her chart in one of his hands. After he seemed satisfied, he turned to the young woman. "Maddie, are you okay?"

Her eyes filled with tears again and she nodded. "I'm okay, Robert. Pretty shaken up, we both are. And I think that the apartment is destroyed, but we're okay." He set the child down for a moment and hugged the girl.

"The apartment is only a place. Just filled with things. As long as you two are okay, that's all that matters. Do you know what happened?" he asked, picking up the baby again. The little Chase clung to her father tightly, her small arms wrapped around his neck.

"I'm not sure. I heard Mrs. Graves saying that Dan Palmer fell asleep with food on the stove." Chase nodded and replaced the oxygen mask she had removed to talk to him.

"Okay. Just keep that on for a few more minutes. I'll check your stats in a minute. Have you called your mother? Does she know that you're okay?" he asked, while rubbing the back of his child.

"Yeah, I called mom when we got here. I told the nurse who admitted us that I had your daughter and to find you. I guess she did." Robert smiled and nodded.

"My heart nearly stopped when she said that my nanny and daughter had been in a fire. I'm just glad that neither of you are hurt." he told her. Then he raised his voice a little. "And House, it's rude to linger in doorways, I know you're standing there, come in already."

House pushed the door all the way open. "You have a kid." he said.

"Yes. This is Emily, she's three. And this is my nanny, Maddie." Chase introduced him. House nodded at the nanny and took the chart that was on the table. It was the nanny's. Her o2 sats were a little low, but they had her on oxygen. He pulled out his stethoscope and listened to her lungs. Then he gently pulled the oxygen mask away.

"You're fine." he gestured to the sink. "Wash your face off, you're smoky. I know Vogue says it's in, but really, you have to know when too much is too much." The girl giggled and Chase rolled his eyes. Then House took the chart that Chase was holding. He glanced over it, noting that the child's sats were completely fine. There was no reason to have her on oxygen, unless your father was an overprotective doctor, of course. "She's fine, too. Take her off the oxygen." He told Chase.

Chase nodded. He was still shaken up over hearing those horrible words, that his daughter was in the emergency room. "House, if you'll let this drop until I can get through this, I'll give you full permission to ask any questions that you may have."

For once, House decided to give him a break. "Okay. One question before I go, though..." Chase gave him a look, but nodded for him to go on. "Where are you planning on staying tonight?"

The question left Chase a little dumbfounded. He had been so focused on making sure that Emily and Maddie were alright, he didn't really think about where they would be staying tonight. "Well, I want to go back and check out the place, see what can be salvaged. Then we'll probably go to a hotel." he looked at his daughter. "How does that sound, Emmy? You want to spend the night at a hotel?"

"Stay with Daddy." she whimpered, clinging tightly to him.

"She's pretty shook up." Chase said. He turned to Maddie. "You're fine, I want you to go on home, take the next couple of days off. I'll still pay you. I know that this was really scary, but you did a great job. Do you think you can drive home?"

She nodded. "Yeah, but my car is still at your place." Chase fished out his wallet.

"Here's some money for a cab. Maddie, I'm so sorry you had to go through that. If you need anything, or if you're not feeling well, give me a call. Anytime, day or night." He leaned in and hugged her tightly.

"Thanks Robert. I'm okay, just a little shaken. Me and Emily both." Maddie said, returning the hug. Then she left the room, leaving Chase alone with House and his daughter.

"I'm going to go talk to Cuddy and cut out for the day." Chase busied himself gathering the few things Maddie had brought with them. House was simply watching them and said nothing as Chase, still carrying his daughter, brushed past him and left.


	2. Chapter 2

Chase decided that he would just call Mrs. Graves, the neighbor who knew everything, and just head to a hotel. He held Emily close as he headed into Cuddy's office. Cuddy knew about Emily, but had promised to keep it quiet. When Chase had started, he had heard of House's reputation and knew that this was a prestigious fellowship. He didn't want House to not take him seriously (although, it seemed that ended up happening anyway). However, Cuddy had never met Emily.

He positioned the little girl on his hip and she settled her head on his shoulder. He signed off on her paperwork and on Maddie's as well. He dropped both charts at the nurse's station, thanking the nurse who came and got him once again. Then he headed to Cuddy's office.

He saw her at her desk and knocked at the door. She raised her head and saw him standing there and beckoned him in. She smiled widely at the little girl in his arms. "Hi Chase. Is this your daughter?" she asked. He smiled affectionately at Emily and nodded.

"Yes, this is Emily. The apartment fire that we had in here, it was my building. The paramedics brought both my daughter and her nanny in." Cuddy looked alarmed and Chase raised his hands in a placating gesture. "They're both fine. I already sent Maddie home and Emily and I are going to go get a hotel for the night. I just wanted to ask if I could leave a little early and take the next two days to sort some things out."

She nodded, vigorously. "Of course, take the time you need." She reached out for the baby. "Can I hold her?" she asked him.

"Sure." he said, handing the toddler over. She fussed a little, looking at her Daddy, but he smiled reassuringly at her and she went without a fight.

"Hi there, sweetie. You must have had a rough day, huh?" she nodded and rested her head on Cuddy's shoulder.

"She's pretty wiped out." Chase said, smiling as her eye's fought to stay open.

"I bet she is. Is there anything else you need?" Cuddy asked, handing the baby back to Chase. He shook his head and smiled politely.

"No, I think we'll be okay, thank you." Chase said. He took Emily's hand and waved goodbye to Cuddy as they left her office. He took a deep breath. At least he had two days to figure everything out.

He took Emily to his car and buckled her in. She was already asleep and he kissed her forehead gently before getting in the car himself. He drove them to the hotel that was just a block from the hospital. He got them a room and as he laid Emily down on the bed, he stepped outside, leaving the door open so he could hear her if need be. Then he dialed his neighbor, Mrs. Graves.

"Jean Graves." she answered.

"Hello Mrs. Graves, this is Robert Chase." he said.

"Oh! Robert, hello. How are you?"

"I'm fine. I was at the hospital...Maddie was there with Emily when the fire broke out. But both girls are just fine. I'm hoping that you're okay as well? I was actually calling to see if you knew what happened...and which units were the most damaged?" he asked her.

" Oh yes, I'm just fine. The fire alarms went off and everyone got out safely. The fire started in Dan Palmer's apartment, Dan fell asleep with food on the stove. But he's fine and so is everyone else from the building. Dan's apartment is completely destroyed and the one right above it, Jennie Howard's. Everything else just has smoke and water damage. The fire department has the building closed for the night, but they said they'll be able to open it back up tomorrow. Do you have a place to stay?" she rattled off, quickly. Fortunately, he was used to talking with her so he could follow her.

"Yeah, Emily and I checked into a hotel. How about you?" he asked her.

"Oh, heaven's yes. I'm staying with my sister. Anyway, my other line is going off. Phone's been ringing off the hook. If you need anything, give me a call. Talk to you later, Robert." she said, clicking off the conversation with Chase.

He smiled to himself and turned off his phone. His pager was on if anyone absolutely needed him, but he figured that he and Emily would both get some sleep if his phone wasn't going off all night. He quietly let himself back into the room and looked at Emily, still sound asleep.

She was a little sooty, but she was fine. Like Maddie said, she was mostly just shaken up from the day's events. His apartment was two floors below Dan Palmers and on the other side of the building. But she still must have been scared. Maddie, too, Chase knew that Maddie was afraid of fire. She wouldn't even light candles.

He stripped off his shoes and socks and suddenly, exhausted, flopped into bed next to Emily and fell sound asleep. Emily woke him up early the next morning. She had climbed on top of him and was laying on her stomach on HIS stomach. "Daddy?" she sing-songed. He pretended to sleep on, snoring loudly for her benefit and she giggled. "Daddy get up!" she cried out.

He snored louder and she giggled some more. Suddenly, he grabbed her and began tickling her and she laughed loudly. "Stop! Daddy stop!" she giggled. Finally, he pulled her to him and kissed her.

"Morning baby girl. How are you?" he asked.

"Good. Is Maddie coming today?" she asked. He kissed her once again.

"Nope, it's just us today. We're going to go back home and see how it looks." She got a fearful look.

"I don't want to go home, Daddy." she said, pouting at him. He figured that she was probably scared of the fire.

"There's no more fire, love. I know that was probably really scary, huh?" he asked her and she nodded vigorously. "Well, Daddy will be with you this time. He won't l et anything happen to you, okay?" She nodded again and threw herself into his arms. He kissed the top of her head.

"Love you, Daddy." He buried his face in her hair.

"Love you, too, baby."

He got up and took a shower and then gave Emily a bath. They both got dressed and Chase took Emily to a nearby restaurant for breakfast. Usually he cooked her breakfast, but that wasn't really an option this morning. He loved spending time with his daughter and unfortunately he couldn't spend as much time as he wanted to with her.

Maddie had been with them since he moved here. She was fantastic with her and Emily loved her to death. Chase had come to love Maddie, too. She was a part of his family, not just an employee. He would call her later in the day and make sure that she was okay after the fire. He'd also check her out one last time, just to be safe.

They finished their breakfast and they headed back to their apartment. He pulled out his wallet and headed up to the fireman who seemed to be standing guard over the building. "Can I help you, sir?" The fireman asked.

"Yeah, this is my building. I was wondering when we can get back in and see how our places are." Chase smiled at the man, shifting his daughter on his hip. He hadn't realized how heavy she was getting.

"We're letting residents back in as long as you can prove your residence." he said. Chase pulled out his driver's license and handed it to him. The fireman looked it over and then nodded and handed it back to Chase.

"So, where you from with that accent?" he asked while beckoning over another fireman.

"Australia." Chase told him. The other fireman had come over.

"John, can you take these two to their apartment? It's apartment 113." John nodded and turned toward the building. Chase followed him, still carrying Emma.

John took them to their apartment and Chase fished out his keys. He unlocked the door and braced himself for what could be inside. But it wasn't as bad as he thought. There was some smoke damage to the walls, but that was it. Chase let out a breath he didn't realize that he was holding.

Emily had her face buried in his shoulder. He tapped her gently on her back. "Look up, baby girl." Cautiously, she raised her head. "See, it's not so bad." He turned to John, who was standing in the hallway. "So, when can we come back in?"

"Whenever you want. There are only a few apartments that we can't let people back in permanently. There'll be a fireman out there for the rest of today and probably tomorrow, too. All you have to do is show him your license, okay?" John said. Chase nodded.

"Thank you. Are we okay to just be here?" John nodded.

"If you need anything, just come out and get one of us." he said, leaving the father and daughter alone in their apartment.

"Okay Emmy, we've got some cleaning to do. And then, you and I will watch a movie, okay?" Chase asked, setting her down on the floor. She nodded and hugged his leg and the two of them started picking up and cleaning up the smoke.


	3. Chapter 3

Chase checked out Emily's room and saw that there was nothing wrong with it. So he let Emily go play and looked around his apartment. It really could have been a lot worse, Chase thought. The walls were smoky, he'd have to wash them. He picked up a table than had fallen over. There were dishes in the sink so he went and put them in the dishwasher.

Chase didn't really expect Maddie to clean the place, but she usually cleaned up before he came home. However, since they had rushed out there was basic cleaning that had to be done. Chase was a bit of a neat freak. He picked up Emily's toys and her blankie. He dusted the tables and the bookshelf. He ran the vacuum around and checked on Emily. She had fallen asleep on the floor and Chase smiled. She still had a Barbie doll in her hand.

Chase pulled the toy away and set it in her dollhouse and picked up the little girl. He kissed her forehead tenderly and placed her in her bed, covering her up. She must have been really tired because she didn't even move when Chase picked her up.

He watched her sleep for a few minutes before quietly leaving the room. Normally, he didn't like her sleeping a lot during the day. She would take a short nap during the afternoon, but if she slept during the day, she wouldn't sleep at night. But Chase knew that the previous day had really scared her and sleeping in a hotel room probably didn't help.

He went out to the livingroom and poured himself a glass of juice. He brought it into the livingroom and settled on a chair, pulling out a photo album. It was one he hadn't looked at in a very long time. But the reminder that the fire could have wiped it out had shaken him up a little. They were the only pictures he had of Emily's mother. And while _he _didn't really want any reminders of that woman, he knew that one day Emily would have questions about her. And he wanted to be able to show her pictures when she asked.

He flipped through the books and saw the early pictures of the two of them. When he got to the back of the album he saw the one picture that always made him sad. It was the only picture of Emily with her mother. He sighed deeply and was putting the album away when his beeper went off. He checked it and saw it was House.

He decided to call him, he knew in the long run it would just be easier. He peeked in Emily's room and saw that she was still asleep. He closed her door partway and went to the phone. The number House had left was his office number so he called.

"House." he said, picking up the phone.

"It's Chase, what do you want?" Chase said. House grinned, he loved irritated Chase. And he was so easy to rile.

"I want to meet your daughter."

"You already met her."

"I want to really meet her...and her mother. And I have some questions for you."

"You really met her, her mother doesn't live with us. And I already told you I'd let you ask questions, just not today." House grinned. It really was easy to stir him up!

"Fine, I'll be by for dinner. I like chicken. And potatoes." House said, hanging up the phone before Chase had time to protest. Chase growled and hung up the phone. Damn him! He was too curious for his own good.

He checked the clock and decided to wake up Emily. He hated doing that, but he knew that she would NEVER sleep tonight unless he did. He brushed her bangs off her face gently. "Emily? Baby wake up, sweetheart." he said. She opened her eyes and looked at him.

"Sleepy, Daddy." she told him. He smiled down at her.

"I know, but you've got to get up. One of daddy's...friends...is coming over for dinner tonight. We've got to go to the store and get something to make. Maybe you can make your special brownies for him, okay?" That seemed to perk her up.

"Okay!" she climbed out of bed. Chase went into her dresser and got some clean clothes for her and helped her change. Then he brushed her hair up and off her face and they headed out. They went to the supermarket and just to be obstinate, Chase bought the stuff to make hamburgers. He also got green beans and the stuff for Emily to make brownies. He just bought the boxes that you just had to add eggs, water, and oil to. He also picked up a two liter of coke because he didn't keep pop in the house.

When they got home, Emily went off to watch TV. Chase set her up with a movie and headed into the kitchen. He put the groceries away and started to make the hamburger patties. He made one for Emily first, with no extra spices, and then made four more - two for each of them - with some ground pepper and Mrs. Dash spice. Then he put them on a tray and put the tray in the fridge.

He washed his hands and headed out to watch the movie with Emily. He had heard that you can never understand how much you love your kids until you have one, and he understood. He would have gladly given his own life for Emily, he simply adored her. He sat down on the couch and pulled Emily onto his lap. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her on the head.

"Look Daddy! Ariel is singing with Flounder!" she said with the excitement of a three year old.

"I see!" he said. They finished watching the movie and when it was over Chase took her into the kitchen to make the brownies. He got everything out of the cabinets and onto the table. He knew that she loved to help, so he let her pour the powder into the bowl, helped her pour the water and oil in, and he cracked the eggs, but let her help him.

Then he gave her a big fork and let her stir up the mix. She stirred for a couple of minutes and then turned to her father. "Daddy! I finished stirring! Didn't I do a good job?" she asked. He peered in the bowl and saw the mostly mixed brownie batter. He suppressed a smile.

"Wow! You did a great job! Go to the bathroom and wash your hands then we'll pour it into the pan and put it in the oven, okay?" He encouraged. She grinned and flew out of the room and into the bathroom. "Use soap!" he shouted to her. Quickly, while she was in the bathroom he finished mixing the batter.

She came back, holding her hands up for her daddy to inspect. "Good job! Now, let's pour it into the pan, okay?" he asked. She nodded and held the bowl (with Chase's help) and they got it into the pan. "Can you open up the oven for Daddy?" he asked.

She opened up the door and stepped back. Chase placed the pan into the oven and Emily closed the door. Then Chase set an egg timer and then he smiled at Emily. "You want to lick the spoon?" he offered.

"Yay!" she cheered, holding out her hands for the chocolate covered spoon. He chuckled and handed her the spoon. He knew they would have to wash her up again after this, but that was okay. It was part of having a kid, sometimes she got messy. He had to learn long ago that, that was okay. He took another spoon from the drawer and scooped up what was left in the bowl and ate it. "I'm done, Daddy!" she said and he turned to look at her. He couldn't help the laugh that escaped. Her entire mouth and hands were both covered in chocolate.

"Was it good?" he asked her and she nodded vigorously. He pulled the camera out of the drawer and turned to her. "Hold up the fork and smile at me, Em." he said. She did, lighting up the room with her million watt grin. He snapped a picture and then put the camera back. "Okay, baby girl, go wash up again. You're a mess!"

She laughed and ran out of the room. She was almost at the bathroom when there was a knock at the door. Chase looked at the clock. It was five, but he really hadn't expected House before six. He sighed. "I'll get it Daddy!" she cried, running to the front door.

"Emily!" he called sharply, just as she pulled the door open. "Emily, what have I told you about opening the door to strangers. You let Daddy or Maddie open the door!" He came up behind her to see House standing there. Emily turned to Chase with a pout.

"Sorry, Daddy." she said.

"It's okay, just be more careful next time." he said, and then acknowledged his guest. "If you're going to open the door, you have to be polite. You say 'hello'." he instructed.

"Hello!" she said, brightly to House. House stared down at her.

"You're covered in mud?" he asked.

"Chocolate! Are you daddy's friend who's coming for dinner?" she asked him. Chase decided to just let his daughter interact with House for a few minutes.

"Uh...yes." he said.

"I made you my special brownies! And then Daddy let me lick the spoon." she told him. Chase covered his mouth to hide his laughter as House looked at her as if she were an alien.

"And then you went swimming in the batter?" he asked. Emily turned to Chase.

"Huh?" she asked. Chase shook his head.

"Never mind, Emmy, please go wash up." Chase told her. She flashed them both a smile and ran off to the bathroom. Chase stepped back and let House into the apartment. As he went to close the door, he realized there was chocolate on it from Emily's hands. He rolled his eyes. "House, go ahead and have a seat. I need to wipe off the door handle." he said.

House went to the couch and sat down, looking around the apartment. Chase went into the kitchen, checked on the brownies, and grabbed a Clorox wipe. He went and wiped off the door handle and then threw away the wipe. Emily had come out of the bathroom and had joined House on the couch.

Chase was about to join them when the timer for the brownies went off. They would just have to entertain each other for a few minutes, Chase thought as he headed back into the kitchen. Emily sat down right next to House and examined him.

"You're Daddy's friend?" she asked him. He looked her over. "Daddy said his friend was coming over and we had to go to the grocery store to get something for dinner. He woke me up cause I was sleeping, but I was sleeping during the day and Daddy doesn't like that. And then he told me I could make my special brownies. And then we came home and Daddy let me watch the Little Mermaid. And he watched part of it with me. And then we made the brownies. And Daddy let me lick the spoon and then you came!" she told him.

Chase chuckled as he heard his daughter prattling on. Like any only child, she could talk even if no one was talking back to her. House was still staring at her. Emily turned to call into the kitchen. "Daddy, does your friend talk?" she asked.

Chase set the brownies to cool and headed into the livingroom. "Usually, he's like you, he never stops talking!" he teased her and she giggled. "Maybe you should give him a chance to speak." She turned and looked at him, sitting patiently.

"You look like your dad." he finally said. And Emily broke into hysterical laughter.

"He's funny, Daddy!" she said, as House looked at her, bewildered at why that was so funny. Chase wasn't really sure either, but it was so funny to see House at a loss for words that he laughed, too. "How do you know my Daddy?" she asked him.

"Dr. House was Daddy's boss. Remember, I've told you about him, he's the one Daddy used to work for before he worked in ICU." he told her patiently. She nodded.

"What should I call him?" she asked her father.

"Why don't you ask him?" Chase suggested. She turned her big, blue-green eyes to House.

"What should I call you?" she asked him. Chase hid another grin.

"You can call me...House." she giggled. "What?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.

"That's a silly name!" she said.

"Don't be rude, Emily." Chase admonished. "Why don't you ask House if he would like anything to drink?" he suggested.

"Would you like anything to drink?" she asked, obediently.

"What do you have?" he asked. Emily turned to her father.

"Daddy, what do we have?" she asked. He chuckled again.

"We have water, coke, apple juice, orange juice, and grape juice." He told her.

"We have water, coke, apple juice, orange juice, and grape juice." she repeated diligently. Even House couldn't hide his own smile this time. He was warming to the little girl.

"I'll have some water." he told her. She smiled, pleased that she was able to 'help' their guest.

Chase got up from the couch. "Would you like bottled water or tap water?" he asked.

"Bottled." he said. Chase turned to Emily, she could get that for him. But before he could even say anything, she had jumped up and ran into the kitchen. She pulled open the refrigerator door and grabbed a bottle of water. She rushed in and handed it to him, beaming. "Thank you." he said to her.

She turned to Chase and whispered (albeit loudly) "Did I do a good job?" she asked.

He picked her up, hugged her, and have her a big kiss. "You did a wonderful job!" he praised her.

"Daddy, when is dinner?" she asked him. House smiled.

"Yeah, when is dinner?" he asked.

"Okay, okay, I see you both are hungry. I'll go start the cooking. Emily, why don't you get Candy Land out and ask House to play with you?" he suggested, sending an evil grin House's way. Emily lit up.

"Will you?" She asked. "Candy Land is my most favorite game EVER!" she cried, already running for her room. House shot Chase a look that could kill, but Emily was already back, game in hand.

"Set it up on the coffee table, House can't sit on the floor." Chase called from the kitchen. Emily pulled the pieces out of the game as Chase pulled the hamburger's out of the fridge. He could see into the livingroom from the kitchen and kept an eye on the two of them as he started to make dinner.


	4. Chapter 4

Hey guys, sorry that this took so long. My new job is killing me slowly. I wanted this to be longer, but I wanted to get it out. I'll try and get the next chapter out this weekend, but I hope you like it!

* * *

Chase pulled out a frying pan and threw in three of the patties. While it was frying, he pulled out the hamburger buns and all the condiments. He set it all up on the table and then went back to the hamburgers. He flipped them over and then pulled out the green beans. He tossed them into a microwave safe dish and tossed it into the microwave.

He glanced into the livingroom and saw Emily and House both involved in the game. Emily was giggling as House got stuck and Emily got to move ahead two spaces. He cut into one of the burgers and saw that they were just about done. He pulled out cheese from the fridge, he knew Emily would want cheese on hers.

"Okay, let's put the game on hold and wash up for dinner." he called. "Emily, please use soap!" he called to her. She jumped up and ran into the bathroom. House got up off the couch and moved into the kitchen. "House, do you want cheese on your burger or not?" he asked.

House looked affronted. "I said I wanted chicken."

"You also invited yourself over here. Do you want cheese?" he asked again. House glared at him for a moment before nodding his head. Chase threw cheese on another burger. He himself didn't really like cheese, so he left his plain. Chase gestured to a tomato sitting on a cutting board. "Would you please slice that tomato?" he asked.

House gave Chase a disbelieving look before going to do what he told him. He was still a bit shell shocked from the whole thing. He started to slice the tomato and turned to talk to Chase. "So, how did you manage to keep her a secret for three years?"

"Honestly, I don't know." Chase said, pulling the burgers off the stove and putting them on a plate. "Emily! Quit playing around!" he called out, realizing his daughter still wasn't back yet. He turned to House. "She loves playing with water." Emily appeared in the kitchen seconds later. "Have a seat, baby." She climbed up into the chair with a booster seat and waited patiently for her father to bring her dinner over. Chase turned back to House. "Have a seat, I'll bring the food over."

House sat down and Chase brought over the plate of burgers. Then he brought the green beans and the plate of the now cut tomatoes. "House, help yourself. Emily, wait for me to get yours ready, okay?" He asked.

House helped himself to a hamburger bun and a cheeseburger. He slathered on mustard, ketchup, mayonnaise, and some lettuce. Chase had put out a bowl of chips, too, and House took some of them. Chase put Emily's burger on a bun and added a little ketchup and mayonnaise. He also put on some pickles. Then he cut the burger into fourths, put some green beans and chips on her plate and kissed her forehead, before starting to get his own sandwich ready.

"Daddy, I don't want green beans." she whined. He scooped some onto his own plate.

"You have to eat some, Em. Just eat what's on your plate and I won't make you eat anymore, okay?" he compromised. Usually, he made her eat two helpings of vegetables.

"But House isn't eating any green beans." She whined louder. He could sense a tantrum coming on. She'd had a long day and he knew that she wanted to keep playing her game. He stopped eating and turned to her.

"Emily, look in my eyes." He said, sternly. She looked away. "Look at me." he said again and she looked up. "You're going to stop the whining right now. What House eats or doesn't eat doesn't matter. I get to say what you eat and you will eat those green beans. Or else you can get up right now and go to bed. Those are your options. What would you like to do?" he asked.

She sulked. "I'll eat my green beans." she said. He nodded and turned back to his own food.

"Thank you." he told her. He saw House open his mouth to talk, but Chase interjected first. "Look, House, I will answer your questions, can you just wait until I put Emily to bed?" he pleaded.

"Yeah. I was just going to ask if you would pass the green beans."

"Oh, uh, sure." Chase said, passing the beans. House scooped some onto his plate. Chase suppressed a grin. He remembered him, suddenly, in a patients room, sucking anaesthesia to get little Adam to do it. Maybe he had grossly underestimated House, maybe he wasn't the evil heartless bastard that Chase always thought he was.

After that, they had a pleasant dinner. House entertained the little girl by making faces at her and she ate all her food without complaint. In fact, she even ASKED for seconds on her green beans when she saw House take a second helping. Clearly, the little girl was fascinated with House.

When they finished dinner, Chase cleaned up the kitchen while House and Emily finished their game. Emily won and Chase wasn't sure if House LET her win or if she won on her own, but she jumped up and flew into Chase's arms, yelling, "I won! Daddy I won!"

"Good job, sweetheart." he told her. He hugged her tightly and kissed her tenderly. "Now, go put on your pajama's and come out and tell House goodnight. Make sure you brush your teeth." he patted her butt gently as she ran off.

"Your cooking doesn't suck." House told him, once Emily was out of the room.

"I'm assuming that's your way of saying thank you, so you're welcome." They sat in awkward silence for a few moments before Emily reappeared in her pajamas, smelling of bubble gum flavored toothpaste.

She looked at House for a minute before asking him, "Which leg is the hurt one?" He stared at her for a moment before gently patting his right leg. Then she climbed up onto his left one and put her arms around him. He did nothing. "Thank you for playing Candy Land with me tonight."

"You're welcome. Maybe next time we can play Chutes and Ladders." he said and she looked up at him. You might have thought that he just handed her a million dollars from the look on her face.

"Really? You'll come back!" she asked him.

"If it's okay with your Daddy." he said. Emily turned to Chase.

"Can he Daddy? Can he come back?" she asked. He smiled softly at the little girl.

"Sure." he said. Emily hugged House again and this time he hugged her back. When they broke apart, Chase picked Emily off House's lap and gave her a big hug. "Come on, Em, let's head to bed, okay?"

"Okay." she agreed, but she pulled herself out of his grip. She kneeled next to House and planted a kiss on his cheek. House just stared at her. Chase took her hand and headed to Emily's room. But first he turned to House.

"I'm going to tuck her in and I'll be right back." he said and House nodded. Chase was gone for about ten minutes and soon he reemerged. "She'll probably fall right to sleep. She's had a long couple of days. And we weren't here last night, so she's happy to be back in her own bed." Chase said, simply to make conversation. He was dreading the questions that he had avoided for three years. "I guess I owe you some answers." he said.


	5. Chapter 5

1"Where is her mother?" House asked. This was the question he was the most curious about. Did he share custody? Did he have Emily when he moved here or did he have her after he moved? The time line would suggest that Emily was born prior to the move to America, but he wasn't completely certain.

"I'm not sure. I would assume that she's still in Australia somewhere." Chase knew he was being vague, but this was difficult for him. He had put that whole situation out of his mind, well, as much as he could.

"Why didn't you tell me that you had a kid?" House finally asked after a few minutes of silence. Chase took a breath and thought about it for a minute. He had often wondered the same thing. He loved and cared about Emily. She was his light, his world.

"I wanted you to take me seriously and I thought that if you knew I had a kid, more specifically, an infant, you wouldn't believe that I wanted the job...or that I would commit to it. Emily was only a few months old at the time you hired me." He finally said. House nodded, accepting that answer. It was true, House wouldn't have taken him seriously if he had known that.

"So, why don't you keep in touch with Emily's mom? What was her name?" House asked him.

"Her name is Lauren. I don't keep in touch because she proved to me that she couldn't be a mother - couldn't be trusted around Emily. I didn't...I wanted Emily safe." Chase confided, looking the other way. "She didn't want a baby, I knew that. The pregnancy was an accident, but she and I both agreed that she wouldn't abort it. I promised her that I'd care for the baby, no matter what."

"How long were you together before she got pregnant?" House continued pressing. Until Chase clammed up or said to stop, he was going to get as much information as he could.

"Twelve years ago. I met her the year after my mother died." Chase said, his voice getting softer with every answer. He drew a deep breath and looked up at House. "Please, don't tell anyone else about this. It's my business, no one else's." House nodded. He had known Chase long enough to know that this was his way of saying that this conversation was over. He still had more questions, but they would have to wait.

"I'll see you tomorrow at the hospital." House said, getting up from the couch.

"No, I won't be in until Monday." Today was Thursday and he had the weekends off. House nodded. Chase let him out and locked the door behind him. He checked on Emily and saw that she was sound asleep. He smiled at the little girl.

He got himself a glass of water and headed to bed. Images and memories were flooding through his mind. Things he had tried to forget were bombarding him. He lay down in his bed and finally let the memories take him over. He knew it was no use to try and fight it. He was going to remember Lauren whether he wanted to or not...

1996

It had been exactly one year since his mother had died. His father was long gone, with a new wife and new kids. He had asked Robert to come live with him when his mother passed, but he refused. He hated his father, blamed him for his mother's death, although he blamed himself more. He had gone down to a local pub just to be alone. Even if he wanted to have a drink, he was too young. But tonight he just wanted to be alone with his memories of his mother. And a pub seemed the best place to honor her, he thought mirthlessly.

He was sitting in a booth, sipping on a coke, when he saw her. She was sitting at the bar, drinking a beer and laughing with her friends. She was beautiful, in fact she almost glowed. Because his mother was so sick he really hadn't spent a lot looking at girls. And now he was in seminary school, so he really shouldn't be looking. But he couldn't help himself, she was amazing.

He signaled his waitress over. "I know that I'm not old enough to buy myself a drink, but could I buy one for that girl?" he asked, gesturing to her. The waitress smiled at him.

"Sure." she said. She knew who he was, son of the famous doctor who had left his family. She also knew who his mother was, she had been a regular here before she died. He paid for a beer and the waitress handed the girl a new bottle. Robert couldn't hear what was being said, but saw the waitress point at him and her smile widened. It took his breath away.

She got off her bar stool and headed over to his booth. He felt his pulse quicken and it was suddenly really hot in here. She flashed him a smile. "Thanks for the drink." He swallowed, his mouth suddenly very dry.

"You're welcome." He tried to smile back at her, but he was so nervous it came out as more of a grimace. She laughed softly, it wasn't a mean laugh.

"Can I sit?" she asked, gesturing to the booth and he nodded. "I'm Lauren."

"Robert." She looked at him closer.

"Are you even old enough to be drinking?" she asked.

"No, but I asked if I could buy you a drink." he said and she laughed again. The sound warmed his heart.

"How old are you?"

"I'm 16." Robert told her. She grinned.

"I'm 18." Robert and Lauren continued to talk for another two hours. Lauren drank a lot more in that time, in some ways she reminded him of his mother. But she was beautiful and vibrant and funny and for some reason, she seemed to really like him.

When the bartender called last call, she got one more drink, even though Robert suggested that maybe she stop. She seemed okay when she was sitting, but when they got up to leave, it was painfully obvious that she was really trashed. Robert's instincts and years of training kicked in. He moved to her side and placed his arm around her waist. He helped her walk out of the bar. He asked her where she lived and she said that couldn't remember.

Robert leaned her against the building and dug in her purse for some identification. He found it and got her address. It wasn't far from where they were, so Robert helped her home. He found her keys and let them into the apartment.

He found her bedroom and all but dragged her in there. She was pretty much blacked out at this point. He laid her on her bed, removed her shoes and covered her up. He went into the kitchen and located a large bowl and took a bottle of water out of her fridge.

Then he went into the bathroom and found a washcloth, which he wet down, and some aspirin. He brought all the items back into the bedroom. Lauren was exactly how he had left her. He placed the bowl next to her and put the water and the aspirin on the bedside table. He smoothed her hair back and put the washcloth on her forehead.

He watched her for a moment and then found a pad of paper and a pen. He wrote her a short note. He wasn't sure that she would even remember him the next morning, but it was worth a shot. He told her that if she wanted to see him again, he'd be at the same pub, same time, next week. He glanced at her again and let himself out.

He walked back to the seminary and before heading to his room, went to the chapel. He got down on his knees and prayed that Lauren would be okay, that his mother was doing well in heaven, and that his faith would never waiver. Then he headed back to his room and fell into a deep sleep.

All week he thought about Lauren. He hoped that she had recovered from her night of heavy drinking. All week he thought about was going back to that pub and seeing her again. He prayed for her all week. And on Friday, he headed back to the pub and sat in the same booth he was in last week.

He hadn't been there for more than ten minutes when he saw he walk in, looking around. He played it cool, sitting there sipping on his coke. She spotted him and walked over to him. "Well, if it isn't my knight in shining armor." she said, sitting down at his booth. He grinned at her.

"So you DO remember me?" he teased and she grinned back at him.

"Absolutely. I think I overdid it a little last week, I promise, you won't have to carry me home this week." They both shared a laugh and really began talking. He told her that she was in seminary school, she told him that she was taking a year off.

"If you're only sixteen, how can you be done with high school?" she asked him. "Did you drop out?" He blushed.

"Actually, I graduated last year. My mother was...ill... and I wanted to be done as soon as possible so I could spend time with her." She gave him a sympathetic look.

"You said 'she was ill'. Is she better now?" She asked. He bent his head.

"No, she passed away, right after I graduated. Then I decided to join seminary school. My father wanted me to go to university, pre-med. He's a doctor, you see." Robert didn't see her eyes light up slightly at that.

"A doctor, really?" she asked. "And he couldn't save your mom?"

"He left us. Old news, though. He's off being rich and famous and I'm trying very hard to find God in this crazy world."

Robert and Lauren talked until the bar closed. Then Robert walked her home, placing a kiss on the back of her hand, and headed back to the seminary. They were going to meet again tomorrow night. He couldn't wait.

Present

Chase woke with a start. He sighed deeply, Lauren, he had tried so hard to put her out of his mind. In some ways, he had to thank her for a lot...he'd never have Emily if it weren't for her. But he wondered what his life would have been like if he had never met her. He sighed, knowing he wouldn't be able to get back to sleep.

He threw the covers back and headed into Emily's room. He stared at his little girl, sound asleep in her bed. Then, slowly, he walked over to her, pulled back the blankets, and picked her up. He carried her into his own bedroom and placed her on the bed. She opened a bleary eye to look at him. "Daddy?" she asked.

"Shh, sweetie, go back to sleep. Daddy just needs some cuddles." He told her, climbing back into his bed next to her. He pulled her small body close and she snuggled right into him. Whenever she got scared, she'd climb in his bed saying she needed cuddles. Whenever he had a bad night, he'd get her and tell her that he needed cuddles. He buried his face in her soft, sweet smelling hair, and fell back to sleep, holding her tight, promising into the night that he'd never let anything bad happen to her.


	6. Chapter 6

1Chase and Emily had a relatively uneventful day on Friday. At least until about four o'clock. Emily was throwing a fit because she didn't want to pick up her toys, when the doorbell rang. Emily ran to the door and Chase tore after her. He got there first and grabbed her wrists firmly. "Emily Elizabeth Chase! How many times have I told you not to open the door? Time out! On the naughty chair for three minutes." He scooped her up, howling, and carried her to the chair.

She screamed but she sat there while Chase went to open the door. He was shocked to see House standing there holding a pizza. "House! What are you doing here?" he asked.

"I brought pizza." he said, stepping in.

"House!" Emily called, jumping up. Chase was on it immediately.

"Emily! You are still in time out. Back on the naughty chair." he told her firmly. She pouted, but sat back down.

House was already in the kitchen. He set the pizza on the counter. Chase followed him and pulled out paper plates. "I got half cheese and half pepperoni and mushroom. Didn't know what Emily liked, but I figured cheese was a safe bet."

"Cheese is great." He glanced at his watch and have House a one minute signal. Chase walked over to where Emily was still pouting. "I put you in a time out because you went to open the door. Now, tell me you're sorry and give me a hug."

"Sorry Daddy." she whimpered, throwing her arms around him. He smiled affectionately.

"I love you." he said, giving her a kiss.

"Love you, too." she said.

"Please go wash up. House brought us dinner." she gave a small cheer and went to the bathroom. She hurried back and climbed onto her chair.

"Hi House!" she said.

"Hi Emily. I brought pizza." he said, smiling at the little girl.

"Yay! Pizza! Daddy never lets us have pizza." she said. House looked to Chase, who was cutting up a piece for Emily.

"We have pizza, Em. Just not every day. You should say 'thank you' to House." he told her.

"Thank you House." she repeated. They all ate pizza together and Chase watched House interact with his daughter. He honestly wasn't sure who was more fascinated with whom. Emily seemed to adore the older gruff man who made her giggle behind her daddy's back. When they finished dinner, Emily looked up at her dad.

"Daddy, can House stay and play for awhile?"

"Well, first you have to ask House-" she cut him off and turned to House.

"Can you stay?" she asked.

"And secondly," Chase interrupted, finishing his sentence. "Your toys are still all over your room. I want them picked up before you do anything else." She glared at him. "You start that, Emily, and House won't be staying at all." she huffed and got up. He called after her. "Put them away neatly, I'll be checking!"

"When you finish cleaning up, you owe me a game of Chutes and Ladders." House said as she left.

"Just so you know, you don't have to do this." Chase told House as he began to clean up from dinner.

"I know, but if I want more information, I figured bribing you with pizza was a good start." Chase chuckled at that.

"Pizza is always a good bride." Chase agreed. They heard Emily in her room. "Can I get you something to drink?" Chase offered. "I do have a few cans of beer in the fridge."

House raised his eyebrows. "Holding out on me, huh?"

"I just don't really want Emily knowing I keep any alcohol in the house. I mean, growing up with my mum..." he trailed and House looked at him curiously. "Oh come on," Chase said. "You don't know about my mum?"

House did, of course, but he wanted to hear it from him. "No." House said.

Chase's face closed off slightly and he glanced towards Emily's room. "My mum was an alcoholic. I think I took care of her more than she took care of me." he sighed ever so slightly. "I would never want that for Em. It's part of that reason I left Lauren."

Just ten Emily came flying out of her room - Chutes and Ladders in hand. "All done Daddy! Can we play now?" she asked.

"Let me check first, but yes. Start setting up. And give Daddy a piece, I want to play, too." he told her. Her face lit up and she pulled out the game.

As chase headed into Emily's room, he heard her start chattering to House. "Chutes and Ladders is my secondest favorite game. But Daddy isn't very good. He always loses."

Chase came back and Emily had the game set up. She was bouncing, anxious to get started. He sat down and smiled at her.

"Since House is our guest, why don't we let him go first?" Chase suggested and Emily agreed readily.

All in all they played three games. Chase lost all three games (Emily was right, Chase was bad), House won once and Emily won twice. House had Emily in hysterical laughter when he won. He was singing, "I won, I won!" and doing a little dance in his seat. Even Chase had to laugh and Emily just giggled like it was the funniest thing she had ever seen.

Chase loved watching his daughter so happy. She was a good kid, sweet, and friendly, but she always seemed a little sad. But these past two days she was laughing and just...happy. He began to re-evaluate his lift. Maybe he didn't spend enough time with her. Maybe he should cut back on his hours. But then again, he worked for a reason.

As much as Foreman gave him grief about being a spoiled rich boy, he wasn't. He didn't have a trust fund, he didn't have a ton of money socked away. He lived on his salary. And with rent, a full time nanny, medical school bills, and a growing daughter - it took a lot out of him.

Maddie had been an incredible find. He wished he could pay her more, but he couldn't...and she understood that. She loved Emily as if she were her own. She would take Maddie places and buy her things, and she never asked for extra money for that. Whenever she did that she would say that she wanted to.

Emily had finished cleaning up her game and had put it away. She returned with her favorite book, The Owl and the Pussycat. She climbed up onto the couch next to House and laid her head on his arm. "I'm glad I met you, House." she said and then she yawned.

Cautiously, as if unsure this was okay, he picked up his arm and placed it around her. Immediately, she snuggled into his side. "Will you read to me?"

He picked up the book, and with a quick glance at Chase, he started to read. When he finished, she was mostly asleep and Chase picked up. He cuddled her close for a moment before taking her to bed. He rocked her slowly for a few minutes before putting her down in her bed. Her little eyes opened, saw Chase, and closed again. "Love you, Daddy." she mumbled.

"I love you, too sweetheart. I love you more than anything in the whole world." He leaned down, brushed her blond bangs from her face, and kissed her forehead. He clicked off the light and stared at her for a moment. Then he went back out to House. He had helped himself to a beer and there was an unopened can on the coffee table for him.

"Thanks." he said, opening the beer and taking a sip. "You're really good with her. Have you got a hidden kid?" House chucked.

"No." He said firmly, looking at Chase. "So, do I get more information tonight?" he asked. Chase figured he owed him that much. Besides, he trusted House not to blab his story all over the hospital. "Lauren was an alcoholic?" he asked, correctly interpreting the look on his face as acceptance. Chase looked up sharply.

"Why would you say that?" he asked. House shrugged.

"Earlier, when you were talking about your mom, you said that it was part of the reason you left Lauren." Chase sighed deeply.

"Yeah, Lauren drank a lot. She was a good person, but..." he trailed. "God, she was so damn irresponsible! Even when she was pregnant with Emily, I had to hide the liquor."

"Why did you guys get pregnant?" House asked.

"I would never tell Emily this, but it was accidental." he let out a harsh laugh. "Lauren did NOT want kids." Chase shook his head. He had never admitted this out loud. "When she was four months pregnant, I came home one day and found her unconscious at the bottom of the stairs. She claimed that she fell, but I know she was trying to terminate." he sighed again. "Even that wasn't the final straw."

"What was the final straw?" House asked.

"Not tonight." Chase said. House decided to change tactics.

"So, when did you meet Lauren?" Chase did smile, finally.

"I was in seminary school."

"You met a girl while you were in seminary school?" House laughed, interrupting him. "Way to go, Chase."

Chase shot him a look. "Do you want to hear this story or not?" House nodded for him to go on. "I was in a bar, just sitting, and I saw her. I was actually underage, but I asked the waitress if I could buy her a drink. She was...beautiful."

"Why were you in a bar?" he asked. "I mean, you were in seminary school, you were underage, and your mother was an alcoholic." House reasoned.

"Actually, my mother was dead." Chase stated. "I used to go to the bar to be alone with her memory. It seemed fitting." House nodded, understanding. Chase looked up at House. "I really loved her. For all her faults, she was an amazing woman. She convinced me to go to medical school, she believed in me, she loved me. But...she didn't want Emily. And I could never understand that." he sounded sad.

"Do you regret not keeping Lauren in Emily's life?" he asked. Chase didn't even have to think about it.

"No." Chase looked at House. "It's getting late, you should probably get home."

That was all her was getting today, House knew. Chase walked House out and locked up behind him. He threw out the beer cans and straightened up a little. He found himself in Emily's doorway, staring at his baby girl. It still baffled him how anyone, much less her mother, could not want her.

He closed his eyes, his mind flashing on the image of Lauren laying at the bottom of the stairs. He feared for the life of his unborn child and the life of his love. Sighing deeply, he stepped away from the door and headed out to the couch. He didn't really want to go to bed and dream about Lauren. So, he headed to his DVD library and pulled out season one of Dead Like Me, one of his favorite shows. It would take his mind, which was exactly what he wanted.


	7. Chapter 7

Okay, first of all I am SOOO sorry that this took so long to get up. First real life butted in and then my muse decided to run away from me. But I was up most of last night writing this and I finally like it. I've re-written chapter seven no less than five times and hated each re-write more and more. Anyway, here's chapter seven, finally.

Secondly, and most important. I had to change Emily's age. I realized that in the context of the story, there's no way Emily would only be three, she'd be five. So, just forget that she was only three. She's five, she's always been five. Three was just in your imagination :) Anyway, I hope you like this!

Chase watched almost the whole first season of Dead Like Me. He finally fell asleep on the couch. It was a deep dreamless sleep, which was exactly what he had wanted.

He woke up early the next day, checking on Emily before starting pancakes. He knew he smell would wake Emily. And sure enough, fifteen minutes later a pajama clad Emily made her way into the kitchen.

She smiled sleepily at him. "Pancakes?"

He smiled back at her. "Yep! Almost ready. Go wash your hands. Do you want regular or blueberry syrup" he asked.

"Blueberry!" she called while hurrying to the bathroom. Chase placed two pancakes on a plate and added syrup. Then he cut them up, poured her a glass of milk, and put it at her place. "Thank you Daddy." she said, coming back.

"Welcome." he flipped some pancakes onto his own plate and joined her at the table. They ate in amicable silence.

"Daddy?" she asked.

"Hmm?"

"Is House the only person you work with?"

"No." he said carefully.

"Why haven't we met any of your other friends?"

"Well..." Chase hesitated. There was no way he could explain the real reason. It would only hurt and confuse her. "Well, Daddy didn't tell them about you. But he was wrong. I was very, very wrong." he told her.

She turned big puppy dog eyes to him. "Are you..." she searched for the word. "Are you 'shamed of me?" she asked. Immediately he put down his fork and pulled his daughter into his lap.

"No baby. Never. I love you so much. More than anything in the whole world."

She seemed content to cuddle with him for the moment. "Then can I meet your friends, Daddy?" she asked him.

"Yes baby." he had a sudden thought. "Why don't we plan a little party? Daddy will invite all of his friends to come over and meet you!" she lit up.

"Okay! Can we invite Maddie, too?" she asked him.

"Absolutely. And we'll invite Miss Patty." Patty was Maddie's mother. "You go get dressed and we'll go to the party store, okay?" She kissed him and ran off.

Oh boy, what had he gotten himself into? He was fairly certain that if he called House, he'd help. He just hated owing him a favor. But then the image of Emily's hurt face came to his mind and he picked up the phone.

"House." came the gruff greeting.

"It's Chase. Listen...I need a really big favor." he could almost see the maniacal grin forming on the other end of the line.

"From lil' ol' me?" What is it?"

"Since Emily met you, she now wants to know if you're the only one I work with. Long story, but I had to tell her that no one knows about her and she thought I was ashamed of her." Chase said.

"Uh huh, and what does that have to with me?" House questioned him.

"I told Emily we'd have a party so she could meet everyone. I need you to get them all to come."

"Who 'all'?" House asked.

"The old team, your new team. Wilson, Cuddy, maybe Amber if she's available. That's it."

"And what do I get?"

"Booze at the party?" he half joked. Chase couldn't see it, but House smiled at that.

"I want the whole story." Chase closed his eyes and sighed.

"Fine." he agreed. Only because this was for Emily. He never wanted her to feel, even for a second the way he felt growing up.

House smirked. That had been too easy. "When?" he asked.

"Tomorrow." he said. Emily came back out, but seeing him on the phone, sat down quietly and waited.

"Tomorrow?!" House exclaimed.

"You and your teams don't work weekends. Neither does Cameron. And both Cuddy and Wilson will take some time off if you're the one asking." Chase reasoned.

"We'll all be there. And when everyone else leaves, I will be staying."

"For the clean-up?" he joked.

"For the story." House clarified. "What time should I tell them to be there?"

"One o'clock." Chase decided.

"I've gotta go, I've got people to call."

"And I have a party to plan. Thanks, House." The phone clicked off. Typical. But Chase wasn't about to argue phone etiquette with a man who was doing him a favor. He turned to Emily. "Can you please find Daddy's keys? I'm going to call Maddie, then we'll go."

Emily ran off in search of Chase's keys and Chase called Maddie. Both she and her mother accepted and promised to be there tomorrow. Chase promised her that she wouldn't be working, just there as his guest. Emily was beyond thrilled. Since it was pretty warm out, Chase decided that he'd grill. First, they went to the party store and he let Emily pick out the plates, cups, and napkins. She picked out pink and yellow. She also badgered him into getting a few balloons.

Once they were done there, they went to the grocery store. He got hamburgers and hotdogs, plus plenty of other snack foods. He also let Emily get a couple of boxes of the brownies that she liked to make. He got a couple of liters of pop and a bag of ice.

They brought all the food home and Emily begged him to buy her a new dress for tomorrow. She was going to be spoiled rotten, he thought, but took her anyway. She picked out a pink and yellow sun dress. "To match the plates!" she said. He chuckled. Luckily, even living with him, she had inherited Lauren's fashion sense, and not his own.

He had a hard time getting her to sleep that night, she was so excited. Finally, he sat with her on the couch and put on Beauty and the Beast. For some reason, that movie always made me fall right to sleep. He carried her to bed, tucked her in and kissed her goodnight. Before he went to bed, he straightened up the apartment.

The next day, they decorated the small apartment. Chase had opened up the sliding glass door to the patio, where his grill was. Emily found some streamers from her last birthday and Chase agreed to put them up.

At noon, there was a knock at the door. Emily ran toward it, but before Chase had even opened his mouth to stop her, she stopped. "Good girl." he praised her, opening the door.

It was House, he should have known. Emily came running toward him and hugged his good leg. "House!" she cried. "Are you here for my party?"

"Of course! I wouldn't miss it." he told the little girl.

"Everyone coming?" Chase asked, letting him all the way in. He headed to what was becoming 'his' spot on the couch.

"Everyone except CTB. She had to work." That was fine with Chase. He had invited her out of politeness. He agreed with House, he thought she was a bitch. A sudden thought occurred to him. "You did _tell_ everyone what this was, didn't you?"

House looked at Chase in mock surprise. "And miss the looks on everyone's face when they see her?" House asked him. As he said this, he pulled Emily onto his lap. She laughed and hugged him. Chase sighed and shook his head.

"Well, Em, go change into your party clothes then come back and I'll do your hair and we can talk, okay?" Carefully, she climbed off House and dashed into her bedroom. When she returned, looking absolutely adorable in her new dress, Chase beckoned her over and pulled her onto his lap. "Do you remember why Daddy told you he was wrong, yesterday?" he asked her.

"Because you didn't tell about me." she said. He nodded his head.

"That's right. So when everyone comes over, they're going to be really surprised to see and meet you." Emily processed this for a moment.

"So it's a surprise party?" she asked. House hid a laugh behind his hand and Chase smiled kindly at his daughter.

"Yes, I guess it kind of it. But I don't want you to be scared, okay? Daddy's here, House is here, Maddie and Miss Patty will be here. But everyone will love you." He assured her.

"'Cause I'm a loveable girl.'" she recited. He kissed her.

"That's right." Another knock. Chase glanced at the clock. It was twelve thirty. This time, it was Lisa Cuddy. She held a bottle of wine and a bottle of bubbles. She handed the wine to Chase as he let her in his home. He gestured to the couches, where House was sitting and took the wine to the fridge.

"Sorry I'm early, but I couldn't miss the faces of everyone." she said.

"That seems to be the general consensus." Chase muttered. He came back into the livingroom and saw her smile at Emily, who was sitting next to House.

"Hello Emily. Do you remember me?" she asked. Emily nodded. "My name is Lisa and I'm your Daddy's boss." She handed her the bubbles. "And I brought you something."

"Thank you Lisa." She said, taking the bubbles. "What does 'boss' mean?" she asked.

"It means that I'm in charge and he has to do what I say." Emily's eyes twinkled as she began to grin. "Maybe someday you can come help me?" Emily turned eagerly to her father. He shrugged.

"I don't know, Em. Ask the boss." Subtly, he winked at her. He had never seen this side of Cuddy before.

"Well, I'm the boss so I say Emily get's to decide." She stated.

"I want to help you be boss!" Emily said.

"Good!" Cuddy said, giving her a high five. Then she pointed to House. "I'm his boss, too." Emily giggled loudly.

"Em, why don't you go put the bubbles on the porch. Then maybe you could Lisa your room." Chase suggested. Emily ran to obey. "Thank you." he said to Cuddy.

"She's so precious. And so well behaved!" she gushed. Chase smiled.

"Most of the time."

"House told me why you suddenly felt the need to host a party. No matter what anyone says, Chase, you're doing a great job with her."

"Thank you." And then Emily was back and dragging Cuddy off to see her bedroom. "God, I love it when she's so happy."

Another knock. This time it was Maddie and her mom. Chase introduced them to House and Cuddy. Emily dragged Maddie outside to play with the bubbles. A few minutes later and Wilson showed up. House had actually told him about Emily. "Em, come here. There's someone I want you to meet." he called. Emily and Maddie reappeared a few seconds later. Emily scurried to her father. "Emily, this is Dr. Wilson." he said. Wilson squatted down so he was on Emily's level.

"Hi Emily. You can call me Jimmy. You are a very pretty girl." he said.

"Thank you." she said quietly, still clinging to Chase's leg. Chase rolled his eyes. Of all days to play the shy card. Wilson leaned forward and whispered something in her ear. Suddenly she giggled and hugged him tightly around the neck.

Chase looked amused. "What did you say to her?" he asked.

"I told her that I had no date today and I wished that the most beautiful girl here would give me a hug and be my date. But I had to whisper it or else everyone else might hear and get to her first." Wilson grinned. He stood up, now holding Emily.

"Watch out Chase, or she might just become the future ex Dr. Wilson." House said. They all ignored him and Chase made a pout.

"I thought you were _my_ girl." he said.

"I am Daddy!" she assured him. "But I don't want Jimmy to be lonely." she said, with all the seriousness of a five year old. Everyone laughed and Chase leaned forward to place a kiss on her cheek.

Another knock had the three doctors bracing themselves. Everyone who knew about Emily was already here. Chase opened the door to Taub and Kutner. He welcomed them in, noting that they both looked nervous and suspicious at being invited to a party by their boss at the home of one of his former employees. Chase couldn't really blame them, he knew House. "Thanks for coming." he said.

"Like we had a choice." Taub muttered. Kutner was the first to notice Wilson holding Emily.

"Who's that?" He asked, pointing at her.

"This is my daughter Emily." Chase said, taking the little girl in his own arms. "I wanted everyone to meet her. That's why I asked House to ask you here."

"I didn't know you had a kid." Taub said.

"That's cause Daddy was wrong." Emily informed him, nodding her head. Chase planted a kiss on her forehead.

"Emily, this is Dr. Taub and Dr. Kutner. They work for Dr. House. They do Daddy's old job." he told her.

Taub seemed like he was waiting for someone to jump out and scream surprise. Kutner was a little more receptive to the child. "Emily, that's a pretty name. A pretty name for a pretty girl." She smiled shyly and ducked her face into Chase's neck.

"Thank you." she mumbled.

"Can I get anyone anything to drink?" Maddie offered. Chase quickly introduced Maddie to the others, informing them that she was Emily's nanny. Everyone asked for a drink and she and her mom went into the kitchen to start poring drinks. Chase thanked her for doing that.

Kutner and Taub had just gotten settled on some chairs and Maddie was carrying in the drinks, when there was another knock. Chase was still carrying Emily, who was acting shy, so he brought her with to the door. When he opened the door, it was Foreman.

"Who's the kid?" He asked, startled to see Chase with a child.

"Foreman, this is my daughter, Emily." he introduced.

"You're shitting me." Foreman laughed. Chase looked outraged.

"Language!" he growled.

"She even looks like you. I didn't know you were one for elaborate jokes, but I guess House really did rub off on you." He laughed, stepping into the apartment. He looked around, but no one else was laughing.

"I'm not joking." Chase was starting to get irritated. "That's why I asked you all here, to meet her."

Emily had become frightened and had buried her face deep into Chase's shoulder. Chase began rubbing her back in a soothing manner. "Daddy..." she whimpered. House had enough, he didn't like seeing her scared.

"You're scaring her, stop." House demanded. "That's really his daughter."

"Are you telling me you KNEW about this? You've known the entire time that he had a mini-me at home?" Foreman stated.

"Yep." House said. Chase rolled his eyes. Finally, Foreman seemed to realize that he was being incredibly rude. He turned to Emily.

"Hello Emily." But Emily was scared now and she refused to look up. Chase rubbed her back some more.

"C'mon Emmy. Daddy worked with Eric for three years. That's a long time. He's a big kidder and he didn't mean to scare you." Chase quickly shot a glare at him over her head. Finally she peaked her head up.

"Hi." she said. "Are you mad at my Daddy?" she asked him.

"No, I'm just surprised." he finally said. She picked her head up then, looking a little happier.

"Oh! Well, that's okay, it's a surprise party!" she informed him. Both House and Cuddy burst into laughter. Chase was beginning to think that this party may not have been the best idea, but he wanted Emily to meet them on her own turf. She was most comfortable at home, so that's where he wanted to do this.

Thirteen arrived soon after and she didn't seem surprised at all. She confided that she had been working in the ER when Maddie and Emily were brought in. She had worked on them and was the one who found out she was Chase's daughter and had sent the nurse to find him.

So that only left Cameron, and God knew how she was going to react. It was going to be interesting. And just then, the final knock came.


	8. Chapter 8

_I know, this update came much faster than the last one. It's also shorter, but I hope that you all enjoy it! Thanks for all of your encouragement and I'm really glad that you seem to be enjoying it as much as I'm enjoying writing it! Reviews make my world go round!_

Chase took a deep breath and headed to the door. He was still holding Emily, who hadn't quite recovered from her encounter with Foreman. It was clear that she didn't really like him. Chase was the most nervous about Cameron meeting Emily. He wasn't sure how she was going to handle it. After all, they'd had a sort of relationship. Chase had never let it get any further than sex, since Cameron clearly didn't want that.

He pulled open the door. Cameron was holding a plate of cookies and Chase saw her plaster on a smile. It was a smile that clearly said, "Oh my god". She seemed to handle things a little better than Foreman. "Hi." she said, stepping into the apartment. She had never been there before. It had always struck her as odd that they met at her place, never his. Suddenly, it wasn't so odd anymore.

"Cameron, come on in. There's someone I want you to meet. This is Emily, my daughter." he said, carefully, gauging her reaction. If she was going to flip out like Foreman, he was going to hand her off to Maddie and pull her aside. She seemed eerily calm.

"Hi Emily. How are you?" Cameron asked, smiling at the child.

"Good." she whispered, still obviously a little shaken from her last encounter.

"Emily, Cameron is a really good friend of Daddy's. He's worked with her for four years. She's pretty, just like you, isn't she?" Emily seemed to study her for a moment, before she nodded her agreement. Cameron smiled at this.

"How old are you Emily?" Cameron asked.

Emily held up one of her hands. "Five." Cameron blinked. That meant that Chase had her for as long as she had known him. How could she not have known about this? She gave Chase a meaningful look and Chase understood. He kissed Emily's cheek.

"Hey, Em, why don't you go back outside with Maddie?" he suggested. Maddie took the hint and came over to her.

"Yeah, I want a turn with those bubbles. Let's go play!" she said, taking the child by the hand and leading her outside. Once Emily was out of ear range, Cameron turned an icy glare to Chase.

"I want to talk, in private, right now." she said. Chase apologized to his guests and led Cameron into his bedroom, shutting the door behind him. He heard Patty turn on the stereo and felt like he could have kissed her. "How could you NOT tell me that you have a DAUGHTER?" Cameron demanded.

"I didn't tell anyone." he said, knowing that was a bad answer.

"I don't care, we were SLEEPING together. I had a right to know that you had procreated already." she said. "Where's her mother, Chase? Is that why I couldn't come over here? Did you make me the other woman?"

"No! No Cameron. Her mother is back in Australia somewhere. I haven't seen or spoken to her since I moved here." He sighed. "It's a really long story. When I moved here, I moved because I got the fellowship with House. At the time, Emily was an infant and I knew that if House knew I had a baby, he wouldn't take me seriously. I had a promise from Cuddy that no one would know about her."

Cameron looked a little more sympathetic. "So, why now? Why invite us all over to meet her?" she asked.

"Were you in the ER for that apartment fire a couple of days ago?" he asked. She nodded. "It was my building. Emily and Maddie, her nanny, were both brought in. I was just sitting in House's office when a nurse came in to tell me. House heard and followed me down there. You know how he is, he demanded to meet her." Chase sighed deeply. "Yesterday, she asked me why she hadn't met any of my other friends from work. She asked me if I was ashamed of her."

"Hence, the party." she said, understanding a little bit better now.

"I'm sorry that I hurt you." he said.

"That's why you broke it off, isn't it? That's why it couldn't just be sex." He nodded.

"Come on, let's get back to the party." she said, heading to the door. But before she opened it, she turned back to him. "Does she know her mother?" she asked.

"No, she doesn't." he said. Cameron nodded and rejoined the party. Chase was thankful that the others seemed to be able to entertain themselves while Cameron and Chase had been in the other room. They were talking to Patty, asking her questions about what she did. However, the heads turned in his direction when they exited the bedroom. Chase put on his 'host' smile. He stuck his head outside and called Emily and Maddie back inside.

"Well, I just want to thank you all for coming. I bought hamburgers and hotdogs to put on the grill. So, tell me what you want, and I'll go start cooking!" Chase said. He got orders from everyone and went outside to start cooking. Wilson offered to help and Chase took him up on his offer.

Patty, Cameron, and Thirteen headed into his kitchen. They pulled out all the condiments, the potato salad that he bought and got everything set up. Chase wasn't really one to throw parties, but growing up with wealthy parents, he had been to his fair share of fancy dinner parties. He knew how to be a good host. House had put on a CD of classic rock, and Foreman had managed to find Scrabble and set up the game.

As Chase flipped over the burgers, he smiled to himself. It may have been a rocky start, but the impromptu party seemed to be doing well. Everyone seemed to be having fun, at least. Chase had never really thought about inviting his co-workers over to his home, but now he was wondering why he hadn't done this before.

Emily had abandoned the bubbles, and was sitting on Cuddy's lap, playing Scrabble with her, Foreman, Kutner, and Taub. Maddie was engaged in conversation with Thirteen, who it turned out, had gone to the same high school that she did. They were enough years apart that they weren't there at the same time, but they knew a lot of the same teachers.

The food was good, House was less abrasive than usual, and everyone seemed to have a good time. After they ate, they decided to take a walk down the block to the park. Even Wilson managed to convince House to come. It was a short walk and House sat down quickly on a bench. They were at the park for about an hour when Emily finally started wearing out.

Chase carried her home, half asleep on his shoulder. When they got back to his place, everyone decided to head home. Both Wilson and Cameron offered to stay and help him clean up. Chase thanked them, but politely refused. There wasn't really that much to do. He confirmed with Cuddy that he would be back to work tomorrow and said goodbye to the last of his guests. Except for House, of course. House was sacked out on his couch. Emily had climbed up into his lap when everyone left and had fallen sound asleep on his chest.

Chase was cleaning up the little bit of mess when he came in and saw them. House had his eyes closed and Emily was cuddled against his chest. Smirking, he quietly snuck into the kitchen and retrieved his camera. He took two pictures without a flash, then turned the flash on. He managed to get two more pictures in before House opened his eyes. "You show those to anyone, you'll wish that you really had moved to Arizona." he threatened. He chuckled. It was hard to be intimidating with a five year old sound asleep on your chest, cuddling you like a teddy bear.

Chase picked up Emily and carried her into her bedroom. He stripped off the dress and put her in some pajamas. Then he tucked her in and kissed her forehead tenderly. He had no doubts that Emily would win everyone over. But he hadn't really expected today to go as well as it had. She was one special girl. He watched her for a minute, before pulling himself away, knowing that House was waiting for him.

However, when he got back, House wasn't where he left him. He was in the kitchen, pulling out the bottle of wine that Cuddy had brought. It was plenty chilled by now and he opened it, pouring two glasses. Chase smiled at him gratefully, knowing that saying 'thank you' like a normal person would only earn him a glare, and possibly get his wine repossessed.

The two of them settled back into the couch. House just looked at Chase. "I know that I owe you the story, and you'll get it. You're just going to have to be a little patient, okay?" When House raised an eyebrow, Chase added, "I know that's not your strong suit, but this is hard for me, okay?" House said nothing and Chase took a deep breath, ready to share his story with the one person he never thought would care enough to ask about.


	9. Chapter 9

Okay, first of all THANK YOU all so much for reviewing. You guys really make my day when I read your comments. I'm so glad that y'all seem to be liking this as much as I'm really enjoying writing it. This is the chapter you guys have been waiting for, the chapter where we find out why Chase left Lauren. But no worries, because this story isn't done, not yet. And I'm also not taking it in a Chase/Cameron route, I know some of you have expressed concerns about that. As of right now, there are no plans at all for any pairing. So, please keep reading and especially keep the reviews coming!

"Well, you know the basics at this point. You know Lauren was an alcoholic, you know she didn't want kids. Tell me exactly what it is your looking for from me." Chase said, after taking a long sip of his wine.

House gave him his patented 'you're an idiot' look, but Chase didn't flinch. "Why did you up and leave your life and take your daughter away from her mother?" House was irritated that Chase made him spell it out.

Chase closed his eyes, clearly in a memory. And just when House thought he was going to have to beat if out of him, he began to speak. "Emily was three months old. She was so little, and so beautiful. I had just finished up my residency and Lauren was encouraging me to use my father to get a good job. I didn't want to, I wanted to get in on my own merit." House opened his mouth to say something, but thought better of it. "I wanted nothing to do with my father. He was an arrogant, controlling bastard. Well, you met him." Chase said and House had to hide a smile. "I came home from an interview at St. Vincent's and Mercy hospital. They had offered me a job in the NICU. It was a good job and I was planning on taking it.

"And then I came home. Lauren was drunk. And I mean, _really_ drunk. I hadn't seen her that intoxicated since before Emily's birth. I managed to keep her sober during her pregnancy, but afterwards, well..." he trailed. He took another long sip of his wine. He was pretty surprised that House was managing to keep quiet, but he wasn't about to comment on it. In fact, it was making things a little easier. He swallowed the wine and took a deep breath. "Anyway, I come home and she starts screaming at me. How I wanted this baby, how I made her have this baby and now I was out all the time, having fun. I knew better than to mention _she _was the one to push me into med school, _she_ was the one who wanted me to be a rich and famous doctor to take care of her." Sarcasm dripped into his voice and House raised an eyebrow at him. Chase took another breath to calm himself. "I didn't want to go to med school."

"What?" House finally interrupted. Chase shot him a look and he quieted down again.

"I was happy in seminary school. But then I met Lauren. After she found out who I was, whose son I was, she pushed for me to go into med school. She told me I'd be an excellent doctor. I loved her." he said a little desperately. "So I quit seminary school and enrolled in med school. Of course, what Lauren didn't realize was how much time of mine it would take up. My schooling cut into her party schedule and especially into caring for the baby." Another shaky breath. "So I get home with this great news and I find her trashed. I asked her where Emily was and she snapped. She started hitting me...it wasn't the first time." he admitted in a small voice. "But I was used to drunken rages, from my mother." His voice was so quiet House could barely hear him. "She was pretty tiny and so drunk she wasn't really dangerous to me. And then..." his voice broke.

House reached forward and placed a hand on his arm. It was so un-House, but it seemed to calm him. Chase looked up at House, looked directly in his eyes and House had never seen more hurt in those aquamarine eyes. "Then she stopped. I could see it in her eyes. She turned and she ran to Emily's room. I've never been more terrified in my whole life. I tore after her. She was drunk and clumsy and I got there first, but she was close behind. Em was so little. She reached into her crib at the same time I did. But my reflexes were better and I got her first. Lauren was crazy, hitting me, scratching me, trying to get at Emily. Emily was terrified, she was screaming and I was trying to calm her and keep her safe." Chase stopped again for a moment. "Finally, she stopped. She bent over, puked on the floor and passed out in her own vomit. We'd been 'together' for seven years. I had picked her up, cleaned her up, every single time she did this. But this time, I couldn't.

"I grabbed a couple bags for Emily, got her birth certificate, some clothes, her blankie, some pictures, and a couple of bottles and I left. I got in my car and started to drive. I really had no idea where I was going. I drove until my gas tank hit almost empty and finally pulled off and into a cheap motel. I paid cash and registered under a fake name. In the morning, I called the only person I could think of. He was the last person in the world I wanted to call, but...I had no choice." Chase tried to justify.

"You called your father." House stated and Chase nodded his head.

"I told him what happened. I told him that Lauren had tried to hurt Emily and I needed to get her away. For the first time in my life, he came through. He wired me money and told me to get a plane ticket to America. He knew that you had a fellowship that had an opening." He let out a mirthless laugh. "I've always hated nepotism. I never wanted to get something on my father's name. And if it were just me, I wouldn't have. I never would have let him get me a job, but my daughter's life was at risk. And so, I let it happen. He called you, got me an interview and got me the job." Chase looked up. "And now you know, now you know why I had to leave Australia. Why I had to separate Emily from her mother. If I'd let Emily alone with Lauren, she might not be here today."

There was a long silence. It seemed like two eternities went by before finally, House spoke. "Your father never called me, Chase." he admitted. Chase looked up sharply.

"What?" he asked.

"I was told that Dr. Robert Chase scheduled the interview. I looked you up, found your father. I decided I wasn't going to hire you. You'd probably have a million chances with your daddy's name. And then, you walked in. You were so confident on the outside, but I could see you were afraid that I was going to reject you. You never mentioned your father and neither did I. Two minutes after I met you, I knew I was going to hire you."

"But...but you told...you told everyone...you SAID you hired me because my father made a call." Chase stuttered.

"Everybody lies." House stated, cool as ice. "I called your schools, I called everybody. It seemed that you never once used your father's name to get you into anything. I..." House looked down as if embarrassed. "I respected that."

Chase let out a big sigh. "I'm exhausted. It's...well, I was going to say it's been a long time since I'd talked about this, but that's not really true. I've never talked about this."

"How much does Cuddy know?" House asked him.

"She knows I have a daughter, that's about it. I simply asked her to keep that information quiet." Chase said. House nodded and then glanced at the clock. It was almost two in the morning.

"I should go." House said. "Not that I'm ever on time, but you usually are."

"Stay." Chase said. "I have an extra bedroom and it's so late, you really shouldn't be driving." Chase didn't really expect him to stay, but he felt the need to offer. It was no surprise when House stood up, rubbed his leg and headed to the door.

After he left, Chase locked the door, brought the two wine glasses to the sink and tiredly headed to bed. He collapsed, still dressed and fell asleep almost instantly. It was strange, but telling House had been almost cathartic. He didn't feel quite so burdened. And that night, he didn't dream at all.


	10. Chapter 10

1Chase was startled awake the next morning by the sound of the front door opening. He knew that he had locked it last night, so either someone was breaking in or someone had a key. There wasn't enough noise for a break in, so someone must have a key. With a start, he realized that it was probably Maddie. Today he was supposed to go back to work. And in fact, he was supposed to be leaving right about now.

"Robert?" came a soft voice. Usually he was there to greet her, a pot of coffee going. He jumped out of bed and hurried out there. "Did I wake you?" she asked. "Am I early?"

"No, you're not early. I forgot to set my alarm last night. So, technically you woke me, but it's a good thing." he rambled. "Damn it." he muttered, rubbing a hand through his hair. No matter if he left right now, he'd still be late. He might as well take a shower and actually get ready then. He made a quick phone call telling the ICU that he'd be about an hour late. They were actually covered for once, so they told him it was fine.

Maddie made a pot of coffee while Chase jumped in the shower. He had slept better than he had in a long time last night. Once he was showered, he got dressed and gratefully took a cup of coffee from Maddie. They chatted a little bit, Maddie thanked him for inviting her and her mother yesterday. She told him that they'd had a wonderful time. She also said that she hadn't seen Emily that excited in a long time.

Chase had let Emily sleep a little longer than usual, knowing that she was probably wiped out from the day before. And he didn't want Maddie to have to deal with a whiny Emily all day. He woke her up, gave her a hug and kiss and bid her goodbye. She was a little tearful, having spent the last couple of days with him. He promised her that if he got a good report from Maddie that he'd bring her into work with him soon.

Work was the same as usual, people came in sick, they treated them and (hopefully) sent them home better. It was a busy day and he was glad when it was over and he could head home. He showered and changed and headed home. Emily and Maddie were at the kitchen table, coloring in a coloring book when he came in. Emily immediately jumped up and ran to him.

Chase grabbed her and threw her in the air, making her giggle. He hugged her close, thanked Maddie and she left for the day. Chase made them dinner and after they ate, he let her pick out a movie to watch. She picked out her newest movie, Enchanted, and together, they snuggled on the couch. By the time the movie was over, Emily was pretty tired. Chase gave her a bath and took her to bed.

He had brought home a new book to start reading to her. It was the first Harry Potter book. Cameron had brought it to work and told him to read it to Emily. He thanked her and took the book. Emily climbed into bed and Chase climbed in next to her. He lifted his arm as she cuddled close into his side. He read the first chapter and she was fascinated. He'd have to thank Cameron tomorrow. She begged him to keep reading, but he just kissed the top of her head, placed a bookmark in the book, and placed the book on her bedside table.

He left her room and went out to the livingroom. He tidied up some of Emily's toys and cleaned up the dinner dishes. He clicked on the television and watched some TV show about a forensic scientist who worked with the FBI. He was only half watching, mostly very tired, but the show was interesting. Then he watched the news, at least enough of the news to see the weather (rain tomorrow, he sighed, rain always meant a lot of accidents pouring into the ICU). Finally, he clicked off the tv. Normally, he didn't go to bed this early, but he was tired.

He actually remembered to set his alarm clock that night and was up, showered, dressed, and had coffee made when Maddie showed up today. She teased him that she was worried it was going to become part of her job to be his alarm clock and he laughed. He had made some cinnamon buns and he put one on a plate for her, along with a cup of coffee, fixed how she liked it.

The next couple of days went on like that. It took House about two weeks (and finally, a phone call from Emily) to get him to come back over to his house. Emily was thrilled to have him and it seemed that he actually liked her, too. He brought her a movie the first time he came back. He said she had too much "girly" stuff. Chase became a little worried at that, but the movie turned out to be "Meet the Robinson's", a new Disney movie. Emily was so excited to have House there with him and she immediately put on her new movie.

Knowing that Chase would keep his mouth shut about whatever went on, he let Emily snuggle into his side and made her laugh by imitating the dinosaur ("I have a big head, and little arms") and tickling her until she gasped for breath and tears rolled down her face.

Chase would never admit it, but he enjoyed having House over. It was nice to have some company who's age was in the double digits. Someone he could actually talk to and have a nice conversation with. And he was surprised to find that he truly enjoyed House's company. When he wasn't being a complete ass, the man was pretty interesting.

Cuddy had also taken a keen interest in his daughter. She would come over about once a week and do "girl time" with Emily. She would paint her nails, do her hair. Sometimes she took Emily shopping. Chase kept telling her that she didn't have to do that.

Cuddy confided in him that she had tried to get pregnant, but wasn't able. She was thrilled to have a little girl to play with. Emily called her "Auntie Lisa" now and she had become a sort of mother figure in the child's life. Chase couldn't think of anyone better.

Even after Cameron's initial acceptance, she had a hard time getting over the fact that he never told her. Cameron became more detached from him...and from House as well. Of course, she believed, like Foreman, that House had known all along. But that was okay with Chase, Cameron was fun, she was a fling, but it would never have amounted to anything. He thinks that he probably kept up as long because he really had no one else to talk to, to have an adult conversation with.

But with both Cuddy and House now a big part of his life, he felt a void slowly being filled. He had really always worried about Emily growing up with no mother. She had Maddie, but Maddie was young. Cuddy's friendship with his daughter meant more than he could express.

When a nurse from the ICU that Chase really liked asked him out, he agreed. He didn't like to ask Maddie to stay anymore than needed, because she was young and he didn't want her life consumed by taking care of a child. So he asked Cuddy if she would babysit. She of course, agreed. House, of course, found out and somehow managed to convince Chase to let him babysit.

He took her out for dinner and had a nice time. He probably wouldn't go out with her again, she wasn't really his type, but a date was nice. However, when he got home, he realized that letting House babysit hadn't been a good idea. She was covered in chocolate.

"Uncle House gave me chocolate ice cream!" she said, happily. It was nine o'clock, she should have been asleep. But Chase could have even forgiven that, if it hadn't been for what happened after "Uncle House" left. Chase cleaned her up and put her to bed. He was still sitting on his couch watching the news when a teary eyed Emily came out of her room.

"What's the matter, sweetheart?" he asked her, concerned.

"I...I had a b...bad dream." she cried, flinging herself into his lap. He rubbed her back for a minute before asking her what it was about. "About Jack."

Chase barged angrily into the diagnostic conference room early the next morning. "You showed my daughter _The Shining_?" he demanded.

House looked innocent. "What? All she has are those Disney movies." he said. "She needs to be more well rounded."

"She's five!" the others made themselves scarce.

"She liked it." House shrugged.

"No, she didn't. She was up all night, she slept in my room! Next time you decide to show her a scary movie you get to spend the night holding her. She cried the whole night long. Kept saying that Jack was going to get her." House did look a little sorry, but he would never admit it.

"That's ridiculous. Jack dies at the end." Chase looked like he could hit him.

"I'll come over tonight and bring something else."

Chase glared. "You bring anything rated over G and I'm sending Emily home with you." he turned to leave, before turning back. "And no more ice cream that late at night!" As Chase stormed out, House laughed to himself.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Okay, we're starting to steer away from fluff and move into the meat of the story. I'd love to hear what you all have to say! **

Chase watched the months pass slowly. Fall came, bringing the beautiful colors he had never realized he missed while growing up in Australia. Chase registered Emily for kindergarten and Maddie's hours cut back. Halloween came upon them, Cuddy throwing a benefit party at the hospital. Chase brought Emily, who had a wonderful time.

Winter came, freezing the air, the roads, and blanketing New Jersey in white powder. Emily thrived in school, coming home every day with new stories, new projects, and new friends. Work passed in an unbroken chain of people needing relief.

Chase kept his word and one Sunday that he had to work, brought Emily into the hospital with him. He left her in the care of "Aunt Lisa" as she now called Cuddy and headed up to the ICU. He had two hours of clinic duty that day and was pleasantly surprised to see his daughter check in on him. Lisa had found her a small lab coat, given her one of Chase's extra name tags and her own stethoscope.

Even House came down to the clinic to see her. Of course, Cuddy managed to get him to do a few hours with Emily "supervising" him. She told Emily that if he didn't do at least two hours she'd get to fire him. So Emily tagged along after him, making sure he was seeing patients and filling out charts. Chase thought it was the cutest thing he had ever seen.

He watched House sneak into an empty room with Emily in tow, giggling conspicuously and shook his head, heading to the nurses station for another chart. Nurse Brenda saw him and waved him over. "Dr. Chase, I've got someone here who says she has to see YOU." Chase stifled a sigh.

"Did you tell her that this is a free clinic and she gets who she gets?" he asked, annoyed. He had wanted to sneak into the exam room that House and Emily were in and smother her with hugs and kisses.

Brenda gave him a look. "Of course I did. She said she didn't care how long she had to wait, but she had to see you. She's got the same accent. Said to tell you her name's Lauren Holloway." Chase's entire world stopped. His heart froze, his breath caught in his chest and he swayed on the spot. Brenda noticed.

"Are you okay, Dr. Chase?" she asked.

How had she found him? What could she possibly want? He managed to pull himself together enough to face Brenda. "Give me a minute and whatever you do, DON'T point me out to her. I'll be right back." he said, leaving quickly.

He headed for the exam room he knew that House and Emily were in. He knew that he had to get Emily out of here. Of all days for her to show up! But just as he reached the door, he heard the familiar voice. "Robert? Oh Robert! It IS you!" she cried. He turned to face her.

Time had not been particularly good to her. Even though only a few years had passed, she looked fifteen years older. The alcohol, he knew. And it seemed that she hadn't sobered up, at all. He could smell booze on her and it made him nauseous. He raised his voice, in hopes that House would hear and understand.

"Lauren. What are you doing here?" he asked. Inside the clinic room, House heard Chase. The second he heard the name Lauren, he immediately knew what was going on. He also knew that he had to get Emily out of there without Lauren knowing she was there or Emily realizing that anything was going on.

"I came to find you. And my daughter." she said. Chase felt physically sick.

"You've had nothing to do with her for five years, why now?" he asked.

"I had nothing to do with her because you took her. I didn't know where you were and your asshole of a father wouldn't tell me." She shot back.

He felt a prickle of pride for his father, something he hadn't felt in a long time. "You didn't want her. You almost killed her, more than once."

"I was sick." she said. Chase scoffed.

"You're STILL drunk! I can smell the booze on you..." She glared.

"It's none of your business. She's my daughter and I want to see her."

"Over my dead body." he said.

While they were arguing, House picked up the phone and called Cuddy's extension. His voice was also a little louder than normal, hoping Chase would hear him and know what was going on. "Cuddy, we have an abuse case in Exam 4. Can you please come get the kid and take her away?" Cuddy didn't know why Emily's mother wasn't in her life, but she figured out pretty fast that Emily was in some kind of danger. She assured House she was on her way and as she hurried to the room, she threw a questioning glance at Chase, who was talking to a blond woman. He didn't even look at her, just kept up his conversation with the woman.

She entered the room and looked at House. He mouthed one word at her, 'mom'. She still wasn't sure what was happening, but it wasn't really the time to discuss it. She turned to Emily. "Emily, I'm going to take you back to my office, okay? I'm going to pick you up and carry you and I don't want you to look up. Someone outside got kind of sick and I don't want you to see it, okay?"

Emily was confused, but she trusted her Aunt Lisa, so she agreed and let Cuddy pick her up. She carried her out of the room and was halfway down the hall when she heard her dad say, "Over my dead body."

Her head shot up and she called out, "Daddy!" before jumping out of Cuddy's arms and running to him. Chase looked involuntarily at the sound of her voice. Cuddy stopped, House stopped, Chase stopped, Lauren stopped. It seemed the whole world stopped, except for Emily, who was still running at him and jumped into his arms. "Daddy!" she said, hugging him.

"Emily, I need you to go with Aunt Lisa and Uncle House, okay?" he said, trying to keep his voice as steady as possible. She pouted.

"I want to stay with you." she said. Lauren was staring at her. Emily looked at her. "Daddy, who's that?" she asked.

"She's a patient of Daddy's. Go with Lisa and House." he said, placing her on the ground. But before she could run back, Lauren grabbed her arms and stooped down to her level.

"Hi Emily. I'm your mommy." she said. Chase hadn't seen House come up behind him but he was pretty sure that if he hadn't been standing there, he would have fallen over. House steadied him.

Emily looked at her. "I don't have a mommy. I have a daddy! And a Aunt Lisa and a Uncle House." she stated proudly.

"Your daddy lied to you. You do have a mommy and I'm her. I love you so much." She tried to hug Emily but Emily got scared. She backed up into Chase's legs.

"Daddy, make her go away." she whimpered. Chase threw a helpless glace to Cuddy, who rushed over and picked her up. She carried her quickly into her office, even though Emily was crying out for her father.

Lauren pushed Chase. "How dare you tell her she doesn't have a mommy! You...you took her away from me. You left me with NOTHING!" she screamed. People were beginning to stare.

"Do you even remember what happened that day? Or were you too drunk? You nearly killed Emily. She was only two months old. There was no way I was going to let my little girl grow up with a mother like that." he practically spat.

"Right, blame your mommy issues on me. I was a wonderful mother!" House was trying to move them into a room, but neither one was budging.

"You didn't even want her. You tried to abort her! You threw yourself down the stairs!" he yelled back, forgetting he was a doctor employed in this hospital. Years of anger and hatred had welled up in him. She didn't deserve Emily.

"I fell! I told you that!"

"You told me from the start you didn't want kids. You told me when you got pregnant you didn't want kids. You told me the day you gave birth to Emily you never wanted kids. I wanted her, I loved her, and I was NOT going to let her grow up feeling the way I felt growing up."

"See! There, right there! You're blaming your past on me!" Lauren screamed again. Neither seemed to notice security getting closer.

Two guards came up behind them. "Come on folks, let's take this somewhere a little more private." Lauren turned on him.

"No! Not until I get to see my daughter!"

"That moment you saw Emily, that's the last you'll ever see of her. She's my daughter!" The guards maneuvered them into an empty conference room. House had disappeared and Cuddy was now there. Chase could only assume that House had his daughter.

"Dr. Chase, umm..." Cuddy faltered, not knowing the other woman's name.

"Lauren." Chase filled in for her.

"Dr. Chase, Lauren, obviously you can see we're in a hospital here and this is not the time or place for this. Emily is quite scared." Chase took his eyes off Lauren to turn to Cuddy.

"Oh God, is she okay? Is House with her?" he asked. Cuddy saw the torture in his eyes and wanted to ask him so many questions. But like she had just said, this wasn't the time.

"She's fine and yes, House is with her. I believe he's calling Maddie." she said.

"Who's Maddie? Some new slut you knocked up and married here in the states?" Chase turned a disgusted glance back on her.

"Maddie is her nanny. And I never married you. You never wanted to be married." he said.

"I loved you." she protested.

"You loved alcohol. I swear to God, Lauren, if you don't leave I will FIGHT you. And guess what, the courts will be on my side. _I've_ raised her, _I've _provided her with a home, food, love. And you are an alcoholic."

"The courts always side with the mother. Especially one who had her child KIDNAPED." Chase turned white.

"I didn't kidnap her. While you were passed out cold, after attacking me AND Emily, I left to protect her."

"Did you ever go to the police with that story? Or did you just up and take a two month old baby away from her mother?" seethed Lauren, knowing exactly what he did. Chase felt like he was going to throw up.

Cuddy tried again. "Please, let's settle this somewhere else. Clearly this isn't an appropriate forum for this discussion." Chase turned back to her.

"Dr. Cuddy, my deepest apologies." But Cuddy knew him and she knew Emily. She just nodded to let him know he was off the hook, but decided to try and fool Lauren a little.

"Dr. Chase, this kind of behavior is completely inappropriate for a doctor in my hospital. I suggest that you get your guest to leave and report to my office at once." She turned to security. "Please escort Lauren off the property." She turned and left. Chase hid a smirk, she was good.

"Don't think this is over, Robert. Not by a long shot. She's my kid, too!" Lauren yelled, as the security practically pulled her out. Once she was out of sight, he let himself sink down into a chair. How could this happen? How did she find him? And how on earth was he ever going to explain this to Emily?


	12. Chapter 12

As soon as Chase was sure that Lauren was off hospital property, he rushed into Cuddy's office, hoping that Emily was there. Cuddy saw him and beckoned him in. "Where's Emily?" he asked.

"House took her up to his office. He figured if Lauren came looking, she wouldn't find her up there." Chase breathed a sigh of relief.

"Is she alright?" he asked, somewhat desperately.

"She's fine. But she is a little shaken up. House couldn't get a hold of Maddie and he won't tell her what happened, but I think he can distract her for a little while." Chase chuckled. If anyone could, he could. Cuddy gestured to the couch in the corner of his office and he sat down, gratefully.

"Dr. Chase, from what I saw I can piece together what's going on, but it would be great if you could fill me in." she said. And for the second time that year he began telling his story.

He told Cuddy how he had fallen in love with her, but she was always drunk. He told her how she pushed him into med school, how she had accidentally gotten pregnant with Emily. He told her about how he found her at the bottom of the stairs, and about the final attack that made him leave her. By the end of it, he was shaking. "And now, she's back. She waltzes into this hospital, sees Emily. She's going to get her, I can't let her get Emily!"

"We'll fight this, Chase. You're not in this alone. You've got Maddie, House, and me. Whatever it takes, we'll make sure she doesn't get Emily." she assured him.

"Thank you, I can't tell you what that means." he said.

"You're welcome. Now, you better get up to House's office. I think you need to talk to your daughter." she said. Chase nodded, knowing that after five years he was going to have to explain what happened. And how do you explain that to a five year old?

He wasn't sure how he got upstairs, but he found himself walking into House's office. Emily ran to him and threw her arms around his legs. "Daddy! Who was that lady?" she asked. House nodded to his private office (they were in the conference room) and Chase smiled a thank you at him. He picked Emily up and carried her into the next room. He sat down on House's lounger with Emily on his lap.

"Emily, I need you to listen very carefully to Daddy. Daddy...well, he may have made some bad choices, okay? But know this, I love you - more than the whole wide world, and I always have, okay?" he asked her. She nodded her head.

"Okay, Daddy. I love you, too." He took a deep breath.

"When you were just a little, bitty baby, your mommy was very sick. And sometimes she did things that she didn't mean to do."

"Like when I get mad and throw my toys?" she asked. He nodded, with a sad smile.

"Right, like that. But mommy, she would get really mad and she would start hitting."

"Would she hit you, Daddy?" Emily asked. Chase nodded again.

"Mostly, she would hit me. But Daddy's big and strong and it didn't hurt him. But one day, mommy tried to hit you." Emily's eyes got wide.

"Why?"

"Because your mommy was very, very sick. She didn't know what she was doing." Chase said.

"Was that my mommy downstairs?" she asked. Chase nodded.

"See, when mommy tried to hit you, Daddy took you away. We moved away from Australia, and your mommy and we moved here. And Daddy never told your mommy where we went, because he didn't want her to find you."

"And hit me." Emily said, with all the innocence of a five year old.

"Right." He said, correctly reading the fear that crept into her eyes.

"But mommy's back now. Does she want to hit me again?" she asked. Chase hugged her close.

"No, sweetheart, no. Mommy never WANTED to hit you, she just, she got really angry and didn't know how else to..." Chase didn't know how else to explain. "Your mommy just wants to see you."

"Oh." Emily paused and thought for a moment. "I don't want to see her." she said, snuggling into his chest.

He pulled her back to look in her eyes. "Emily, if you want to see your mommy, I'll let you see her. I'll go with you or Uncle House or Aunt Lisa will, but if you want to see her, you can."

"No Daddy, I don't want her to hit you or me." She moved back to cuddling into his chest.

"Okay, baby, okay. I promise you."

"You won't ever leave me, right Daddy?" she asked.

"Never." he cooed. He saw House beckoning him into the other room. He stood up and placed her back in the chair. "I want you to sit here for a minute while Daddy goes to talk to Uncle House, okay?" She nodded and he went into the other room.

"I think you guys should stay at my place tonight. If Lauren knows where you work, chances are she knows where you live, too. She could be waiting to ambush you." Chase ran his hands through his hair, frustrated.

"I don't want to disrupt Emily's life anymore. We should be able to go home."

"Just for tonight. I'll send Cuddy by your place to see if she's there." House reasoned. Chase was really too tired to argue.

"Thanks." he said. He went back in and picked up Emily. "Em, we're going to stay with Uncle House tonight."

Emily seemed content with that. She hadn't ever been to his home before and she was excited and they left together. They swung by Chase's place and picked up a few things, a change of clothes, Emily's favorite stuffed animal, and a few other essentials. When they arrived at House's, they ordered take out and ate quietly. Chase had grabbed The Little Mermaid and put the movie on while they ate. By the time they were done, Emily could hardly sit up straight, she was so tired from the day.

Chase had set up her blankets and a pillow on the smaller of the two couches and settled her in. House was sitting at his desk, pretending to read a journal, but actually listening in on the conversation. "Daddy, will you sing my song?" she asked, yawning.

He flushed an embarrassed red. One day when before Emily had even started speaking, she wouldn't stop crying one night. Frustrated, he began singing the first song that had popped into his head, "I Feel Fine" by the Beatles. She settled down immediately and looked up at her daddy, eyes trusting, and then they closed and she drifted off to sleep. And every night he would sing to her and she'd settle.

Once she started talking, she began requesting the song. He had tried recording it, he'd tried having her listen to the original, but she always wanted HIM to sing it to her. Of course, House heard this and turned around. "Your daddy sings?" he asked. Emily nodded.

"He sings so pretty." she said, yawning again.

"What do you sing to her?" House asked him, an amused expression on his face. Resigning himself to the fact that he was going to sing to Emily (even if it meant torture from House, he would never refuse his daughter, especially after the day she'd had.)

"'I Feel Fine' by the Beatles." House nodded, stood up and moved to the piano. He began to play and Chase turned his attention to Emily. As he sang the line, "I'm so glad, that she's my little girl." he tickled her tummy and she giggled. Then he stopped singing and let her sing the next line, like she liked to.

"She's so glad, she's telling all the world." Chase smiled affectionately at her. He finished the song and kissed her forehead. Her eyes were already drifting shut. House shut the piano lid carefully and turned to Chase.

They decided to move into the kitchen, where there was less chance of waking Emily. "I didn't know you could sing like that." House said, almost awed.

"I didn't know you could play like that." Chase replied.

"I didn't know your taste in music was so much better than your taste in clothes." Finally, Chase laughed for a minute, but soon his grin faded. He ran his hands tiredly through his hair.

"I don't know what I'm going to do. If Lauren actually takes this to court, she's right. I took an infant away from her mother. I never went to the police, I never filed a report. I didn't even tell anyone for five years. It's going to look like I had something to hide."

House looked at him, very controlled. "I don't know what you're talking about Dr. Chase, I've known about Emily since day one."

Chase's head almost snapped off his neck, he looked up so quickly. "No, House. You can't lie for me."

House shrugged and got up, heading to bed. "Call Stacy. She probably can't defend you, but she'll know someone who can." With that, he was out of the room. Chase sighed so deeply, it actually hurt. He grabbed himself a glass of water, downed it quickly, and then went to bed himself.


	13. Chapter 13

The next morning, Chase did call Stacy. She gave him the number of a lawyer named Sean Mason and wished him good luck. Chase called Sean and told him everything that had happened. The good news was, that Chase had taken Emily to a hospital the day after he left, so there was a catalogue of her injuries. There was also a listing of HIS injuries. According to Sean, this was all very good news.

But three weeks went by and Chase didn't see or hear from Lauren. He hadn't let his guard down, but he was beginning to relax. He had, of course, informed Maddie of what was going on. She was not to let Emily out of her sight, unless she was at preschool. He also requested that Maddie be the one to drop her off and pick her up. Not that she wasn't already doing that, but it just made him feel better.

Emily did not ask about her mother again. In fact, it seemed she'd be perfectly okay forgetting about her. She did ask about House and Cuddy, though. Her day of playing in the hospital had been cut short and she wanted to do it again. But Chase was a little reluctant to bring her again. However, House and Cuddy made frequent appearances at his apartment, so she was happy about that.

Chase and Sean had worked out a game plan, if it came to it. Sean was optimistic that if Lauren hadn't shown up yet, she wasn't going to. Chase was less certain, but after two months had passed, even he had to admit that she probably didn't care enough to try anything.

He couldn't have been more wrong. It was a slow day in ICU, which was a good thing. Chase was hanging out in diagnostics, his pager and his cell phone on him. His phone rang and he glanced at the caller id, noting that it was Maddie, and he answered.

"Robert?" she asked. It was clear she was sobbing and Chase felt his chest constrict.

"Maddie? What is it?" he asked, sitting up straighter in the chair. Had he been paying attention, he would have noticed that House also sat up and turned off his gameboy.

"I came to pick up Emily, but she's gone. The teacher said someone came to pick her up." she was crying so hard, it was hard to understand her.

"Are you at the school?" he asked, already jumping up and putting on his coat.

"Yes." she confirmed.

"I'm coming. Don't leave. Have they called the police?" he asked, racing out of the room. House followed him, Chase didn't notice.

"Yes, they're on their way." Chase was shaking as he said goodbye to her and ran.

"Chase!" he heard from behind him. He didn't stop.

"Emily's gone." he said, trying not to lose it.

"I'm coming, wait for me." House said, trying to keep up with him.

"I'll get my car and swing around for you." Chase agreed. He felt like maybe he could keep himself together if House were there. He raced to the parking lot, getting his car, and came back to the front and picked up House. He barely stopped, but House jumped in. "Maddie went to pick her up from kindergarten and she wasn't there. Someone picked her up." He informed him.

"Lauren?" he asked.

"That would be my guess." he snarled.

"How?" House asked.

"I don't know!" he snapped. "When this whole Lauren mess started, I went to the school and made it clear that only Maddie, her mother, or I could pick Emily up from school."

"Have they called the police?" House questioned. Chase nodded, no longer trusting his voice. They managed to make it to the school, without being pulled over for speeding (a minor miracle, House thinks). Chase pulls up to the front of the school and parks behind the police cars that are already there. Chase doesn't wait for House as he rushes into the building. He spots Maddie right away and rushes over to her. She's still crying and shaking.

"What happened?" Chase demanded of the professionals.

"It seems that someone came here to the office, said her name was Maddie and said that Emily's father called and that he needed her right away. We followed protocol, checked to make sure Maddie's name was on the list and then we got Emily and sent her out." The secretary defended.

"Didn't you check ID or something?" he demanded.

"Of course I did! She HAD ID, saying that her name was Madeline Byerly." Both Maddie and Chase looked up at this.

"How the hell did she know your last name?" Chase wondered. A police man came up to Chase.

"Dr. Chase? My name is Officer Martin and I'm the lead detective in charge of this case. Do you know anyone who would want to kidnap your daughter?" Again, Chase came close to losing it. He felt House's hand on his shoulder, took a deep breath, and turned to the officer.

"Yes, Emily's mother. Her name is Lauren Holloway." Chase filled the officer in on what had been going on. That he had taken Emily five years ago, that Lauren had found them. When the cop was talking to the secretary and the principal, Chase called Sean and he told Chase he was on his way.

The good news was that Lauren had picked Emily up only a half an hour before the end of school. Chances were she hadn't gotten far. An amber alert was issued through the state of New Jersey. And at the request of Sean, the alert had gone out to New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia. All airports, train stations, and bus stations had the alert in their hands within five minutes. Barricades had been set up at state lines and all vehicles were being searched.

Chase had given the police her picture and it was currently being sent to every news station in the area. They all tried to reassure him that they would find his daughter quickly and she'd be home safely soon. But all Chase could remember was the frightened image of his daughter's face the last time she had met Lauren.

"She must be so scared." Chase choked out. House immediately placed his hand on Chase's shoulder, and he was once again glad for the contact. He might have fallen apart and he wasn't ready to do that yet. House had called Cuddy and let her know what was going on. She was very worried and wanted to come be with Chase, but House convinced her to stay at the hospital.

"Robert, you need to be calm. I know you're terrified, but they'll find her. And it won't turn into a custody battle, I promise you that much. Lauren really kidnaped her. When you took her, it wasn't a kidnap, you had custody. And remember, that you have sole custody of her. This won't look good to a judge. In fact, she'll face kidnaping charges." Sean tried to assure him.

"If she's found. There are millions of children who go missing and are never found." Chase tried not to sound like he was giving up.

"She will be found." he said.

Hours passed and there was no word. No one had sene Emily or Lauren. Her picture had been aired on the twelve o'clock news, on the four o'clock news, and by the six o'clock news, Chase had given an interview to the press. He begged the public if anyone had seen Emily to please call and bring home his baby.

House, Wilson, and Cuddy were all camped out at his apartment. They didn't want to leave him alone, and they also wanted to know what was going on. He had given the police permission to tap his phone in case she called. He called the police station every half an hour for an update. There had been several "sightings" but nothing to follow up on. It seemed as if Lauren had disappeared off the face of the planet, Chase's daughter along with her.

Wilson made dinner, which Chase didn't touch. Cuddy sat with him on the couch, their shoulders touching. It wasn't sexual, just a friend comforting a friend. Chase's heart ached more with each minute that passed. He wondered if Lauren was at least taking care of Emily. If she were frightened, if she was asking for him. But he had to stop that at once, because the image of Emily asking for him broke his heart.

He was watching himself on the ten o'clock news when House's cell phone rang. "House." he answered. His face went pale and it took a lot to shock House. He handed Chase his cell phone, without a word.

"I knew you'd have the police tracing the calls from your own phone." said Lauren. He was almost physically sick.

"Where are you? Where's Emily? Is she alright?" he begged. Wilson had gotten up and was calling the police from his own phone.

"Relax. She's fine. She's asleep. She _loves_ spending time with her mommy." Lauren teased. Chase almost lost it. He knew that wasn't true, Emily was scared of Lauren.

"Please, just bring her back. I promise, I won't do anything. I just want her back." Chase begged.

"Now you know how I feel. I'll call you later." she said, hanging up. She hung up over his protests. Chase lost it and finally began to sob.


	14. Chapter 14

_First of all, my sincerest appologies on this taking so long. I was having some difficulty with this chapter, but I promise the wait for the next chapter won't be nearly as long. It's already written and I'm working on sixteen as we speak. _

_I want to dedicate this chapter to quack675 and her infinite patience with me and my rambling questions and hounding her for her opinions. I appreciate your help more than I can say! This chapter nearly kicked my butt until you stepped in!_

* * *

It took them almost an hour to get Chase to calm down. He was so afraid that he was never going to see her again. He missed her so much. The police had been informed and traced the phone call to a pay phone at a gas station in Camden. The gas station attendant had confirmed that he had seen her there. He hadn't seen Emily, though. He said that the woman fitting Lauren's description had come in, paid for gas, and then left. He wasn't really paying much attention.

It did give the police something to work with though. They knew she was driving. The gas station was under video surveillance and within a half an hour, they had the images from when Lauren was there and now they knew what kind of car she was driving and had her license plate number.

The police told him it was only a matter of hours before they found her. Chase was less certain. About two in the morning (no one was asleep) Chase finally got up and headed to the door. Glancing around for his keys, he got angry when he couldn't find them. "Where the hell are my keys?" he demanded.

"I have them" House stated, unabashedly. "I don't think you should be driving."

"Give me my keys. I have to get out of here." he sounded panicky. Wilson and Cuddy exchanged a worried glance.

"Where do you want to go?" he asked, calmly.

"Anywhere." his voice was shaking with fury and nerves.

"Okay. Let's go." House gave in easily.

"What do you mean 'let's'?" he questioned.

"I mean that you and I will go somewhere." House reasoned, getting up off the couch.

"No, I want to be by myself." Chase argued.

"Not a chance." House told him. Chase made an angry move and Wilson was up in a second.

"We're just worried about you." Wilson tried to reason with him.

"I'm not going to do anything stupid. I just...can't stand one more second in this place...without...her." he was losing his composure.

"Then why can't I come with?" House asked. Chase realized he had no argument and didn't have enough energy to fight him. He gave in and allowed House to come with him. Both Cuddy and Wilson stayed behind. House took the wheel and Chase didn't argue. "So where are we going?" Chase shrugged and House just started to drive.

It was freezing outside, but Chase rolled the window down. House said nothing. As they drove the dark streets of Princeton, Chase stared out the window. The cold air kept him from crying more. All of a sudden, they passed a church and Chase asked him to pull in. There were lights on. He told House he could wait in the car, but House followed him anyway.

He opened the door, to his relief it was unlocked. He entered and read the sign. It was a catholic church, he wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not. It was a small church and he quickly found the chapel. He crossed himself as he entered and headed to the front. He lit a candle for Emily and headed to a pew a few rows back. He got down on his knees and really began to pray. He felt House sit down in the row behind him.

After a few minutes of praying in silence. Chase looked up. He was looking at the front, at the large cross in front of a stained glass window. "Why?" he asked. House seemed to know that he was talking to him.

"I don't know." He said, honestly.

"Do you think I'll get her back?" he questioned, his voice breaking.

"Yes." House said. Chase turned to face him.

"Why?" he asked again.

"Because she belongs with you." House said, simply. Chase nodded, accepting that answer. He crossed himself again and stood up.

"Let's go home." he said, leaving the pew. House stood up, too. He turned to head out the door but House went the opposite direction. He headed up to the altar and lit his own candle. Chase stared at him, flabbergasted.

"Can't hurt." he shrugged. Chase nodded and they headed out the door. They had just made it back to the car when Chase's cell phone rang. He answered it quickly.

"You ready to talk yet?" Lauren asked him.

"Just tell me what you want. You can't want Emily, she's just a pawn in this." Chase begged as House began dialing the police, then Cuddy and Wilson.

"Meet me in Cherry Hill. At the Days Inn. Come alone." she ordered, hanging up on him again. Chase relayed the conversation to House as he drove home. But he didn't turn on his street, he continued on and got on the highway.

"What are you doing?" Chase demanded.

"We're going to Cherry Hill. The police won't let you go alone and I sure as hell won't let you go alone. And if you go with the police, she'll be out of there in seconds." House said. Chase quickly realized that he was right. It normally took about an hour to get to Cherry Hill, but the way House was driving, they were there in thirty minutes.

House had found the only Days Inn in Cherry Hill on his blackberry and pulled into the parking lot. They shared a quick look before Chase got out of the car. House stayed where he was. Chase ran into the lobby of the hotel. He hurried to the front desk. "Excuse me, have you seen a woman and a young child check in here?" he pulled out the photo of Emily he had and showed him.

"Oh! Are you Dr. Chase?" He asked.

"Yes!" he practically shouted.

"I have a message for you. It's kind of strange, but she said you'd get it." He shrugged, handing over a memo pad with a scrawled message.

_Robert. I'm almost disappointed that you didn't trace the call before you came rushing here. You didn't really think it would be that easy, did you? _Chase's heart sank as he continued to read. _Just go ahead and check in. I'll try and remember to give you a call sometime tomorrow. I rented you a room. Have a good night! Lauren and Emily._

Chase couldn't believe that he had fallen for this. Suddenly, the door burst open and House came rushing in. He was waving his cell phone. "The police called! She checked into a hotel down the street, with her _credit card_!" House rolled his eyes. She's not really the brightest crayon in the box, is she? The manager checked them in and then called the police. He recognized them from the news reports." Chase was standing there, stock still. "Come on, let's go!"

That seemed to get Chase moving. Chase grabbed the note and turned and rushed out, House right behind him. The ride was silent, Chase's heart was pounding. He'd give anything in the world just to see his daughter and make sure she was safe. He tried not to think of what Lauren might have done to her, that line of thinking wasn't going to do anyone any good. In no time at all they had pulled into a parking lot. Chase was beginning to feel physically sick.

They both got out of the car and headed inside. Chase spotted her immediately and grabbed House, pointing. He made a gesture for House to stay where he was and he headed into the bar, where Lauren was downing a drink. Watching her brought a fresh wave of fury over him. "Lauren, it's over. The police are on their way."

She spun around on the bar stool, but apparently the drink Chase had seen her with wasn't her first and she almost lost her balance. She looked stunned to see him there, this clearly threw her plan. "How did you find me?"

Chase rolled his eyes at her. "You checked in with your credit card. Plus, both of your pictures have been all over the news. The hotel manager called the police. Where is my daughter?" he demanded.

"_Our_ daughter is safe and sound." Lauren sounded smug.

"You left a five year old alone. You kidnaped her from her father, you're drinking. How do you think all this is going to look?" Chase accused.

"It's not going to look like anything. You're going to give me money and I'm going to disappear." She stated. Chase looked at her like she was an idiot.

"Until when, Lauren? The next time you need more booze money and kidnap my child again?" He snapped.

"She's OUR child, Robert. I carried her, I gave birth to her." Lauren said.

"In a biological sense, yes, you are her mother. But you didn't want her, I'm still fairly certain you don't want her, you're after something else. Money, it seems. Fine, Lauren, I'll play your games and pay you off. But if you think you're ever getting near her again, you're sorely mistaken." Chase paused and let that sink in. "How much?"

"A million." Lauren glared at him. Chase felt like the bottom had dropped out of his stomach.

"A million DOLLARS?" he asked, flabbergasted.

"No, a million dimes." Chase was beginning to feel panicky.

"Lauren, I don't have that kind of money." he said seriously.

"You're a doctor, your father was a doctor. I know he died, and I know he had to leave you the money. You may be a disappointment to him, but you are his only son." She rolled her eyes at him. Chase took a breath to try and calm himself.

"My father left his entire estate to my step-mother and her kids. I was cut out of the will. And I've been on a fellowship for the last four years. I'm serious, Lauren, I don't have that kind of money." he tried to keep his voice steady.

"Well, you better find it fast. Because if I don't have that money you won't ever see your daughter again." she said. Chase thought fast.

"There's no way you can run with her. We've found you, it's up." he tried to stall her. He wondered where House was.

Lauren pulled out a gun. She smiled sadistically. "Who said I had to take her? I'm not messing around here, Robert, I want my money. I want it in cash and I want it right now!" She was losing control.

"Even if I HAD a million dollars, do you think I'd carry it around in CASH?" he asked her, disbelieving.

Suddenly, several things happened at once. The doors to the bar flew open and several police men came running in. Lauren fired a shot at Chase, who fell to the floor with the force of the bullet, and Emily broke free and came running in, just in time to see him fall. "DADDY!" she screamed.


	15. Chapter 15

_This chapter is going to start off by backing up a little. Basically, it's what House is doing while Chase talks to Lauren. Enjoy!_

Chase had headed into the bar to confront Lauren. House hadn't seen Emily with her, so he turned to the hotel manager. "The police are on their way. Which room did they check in to?" he asked.

"Why?" The manager asked.

"Because she left his five year old daughter alone in a room. I want to go find her and get her." House practically yelled. What little patience he had was gone. The manager flustered, found the room, and got him a key card.

As soon as he had the card in his hand, he headed to the elevators, hoping that the confrontation between Chase and Lauren would give him enough time to get the girl. He exited the elevator on the fifth floor and glanced at the directional sign. He moved as quickly as his leg would allow. He found the room and inserted the key card, opening the door slowly.

For the rest of his life, he would never forget the sight that met his eyes. Emily had gasped and jumped off the bed, hiding in the corner as the door opened. "Emily, Em, it's me. It's Uncle House." he said.

Her tear stained face peaked up and when she realized he was alone, she ran to him. It was clear that she had been crying for a long time. She flung herself into his arms and, in years to come, he would never figure out how he managed to catch her. "W-w-where's D-d-d-d-daddy?" she sobbed, as he held her close.

"He's downstairs. Don't worry, we're taking you home. Aunt Lisa and Wilson are at your house, waiting for you to come home." he told her.

"I w-w-want Daddy!" she cried, clinging to him like a lifeline.

"We're going to get him." he promised her. "Emily, I need you to walk because Uncle House's leg is bad and he can't carry you. But he'll hold your hand and he won't let you go, okay?" he promised. Holding her hand, he stepped into the bathroom and grabbed a tissue. He handed it to her. "Blow your nose." he instructed.

She nodded and blew her runny nose. Then he wet a washcloth and let her rub it over her face. When she was done, they left the cold, empty hotel room. They headed back downstairs and the first thing House saw was a bunch of cops questioning the hotel manager. One of the cops saw him and hurried over to them. Emily panicked and held House's hand tighter.

"Are they going to take me away from Daddy?" she asked him, fearfully. House looked at her in surprise.

"No, they're here to help you." House tried to assure her.

"The lady said if we saw police they would take me away from Daddy." House noted that she was now referring to Lauren as 'the lady'. The policeman had reached them by now. He was a jovial looking man, and he knelt down so he was on her level.

"Are you Emily Chase?" he asked her. She never let go of House's hand, but she nodded.

"Where's my daddy?" she asked him.

"Are you hurt at all?" he asked. She shook her head.

"Where's daddy?" she asked again. This time, she pulled on House's hand and looked up at him with her bright, innocent eyes.

"Your daddy is in the other room, talking to your mommy..." the cop said. That was all she needed to hear. She let go of House's hand and followed the police men who were rushing into the room. As she entered, Lauren fired a shot at Chase and he fell. Emily screamed as loud as she could, "DADDY!"

House was behind her in an instant and picking her up, making sure she couldn't see anything. "Emily, it's okay. Don't look, baby." he said.

House sat down on a bench in the lobby, keeping Emily in his lap. She sobbed against his chest, soaking his shirt with her tears. House fought with himself between staying with Emily and going to check on Chase himself. He hadn't seen where he had been hit. He grabbed a cop who was running past and gave him a meaningful look, glancing down at the sobbing child in his arms.

The cop shrugged and House fought back a retort. Useless. Suddenly, he realized that Emily was looking up at him. He brushed a stray tear off her face. "Is Daddy dead?" she asked him. He could lie to her and tell her no, but the truth was he didn't know.

"I don't know. If you can sit here for a minute, I'll go find out." Lauren had been arrested and was out of the hotel. She nodded and he motioned for a cop to come over. "Sit with her." he directed. The cop looked at him like he was crazy, but House was already across the room. He ducked under the police tape and looked around the room. He felt immediate relief when he saw that Chase was awake. He was demanding to see his daughter.

House pushed the paramedic out of the way. "House!" Chase said. "Where's Emily? Is she okay?"

"She's better than you are." House quipped. Chase's leg was bandaged. Apparently the liquor had affected her aim and had missed any essential parts. He gestured to his leg. "What's going on?"

"Bullet's lodged in the leg, hurts like hell, but I wouldn't let them take me until I can see Emily." Chase said, glaring at the attendant.

House turned to the paramedic. "Have him airlifted to Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital." He turned back to Chase. "Just think for a minute, you don't want to scare her."

"House, you don't understand. I HAVE to see her. Please." Chase pleaded. House nodded and turned and left the room. He headed back to the lobby, where Emily was sitting quietly.

"Em, come with me." He called. Emily jumped up and ran to him.

"Daddy?" she asked.

"Your daddy is hurt, but he's okay. He's going to live and he wants to see you. I need you to be a brave girl when we go in and see him." She nodded seriously and grabbed House's hand and let him lead her inside the room where she had seen her daddy fall.

When House opened the door and Emily saw her father laying on the floor, she balked. "It's okay." he whispered. "Be brave." She nodded and Chase looked up. House could see him fighting back the tears.

"Emily." he said and the one word was all it took. She ran to him and threw herself into his arms. He winced slightly but hugged her tightly. "I'm so sorry Emily."

"Daddy!" She was sobbing again. "I love you, Daddy."

"I love you, too, Emily. I promise, we'll never be apart again." he held her close to him. House let them have a moment and then stepped over.

"Emily, they need to take your daddy to the hospital so he can get all better. They're going to take him in a helicopter and you and I are going to drive back, okay?" he asked her.

"No! I wanna stay with Daddy!" she cried, clinging tightly to his neck. Chase gently smoothed her hair and kissed her forehead.

"It's okay, princess. I want you to go for a drive with Uncle House." he nodded at her and she loosened her grip and gave him one last kiss, before leaving with House. The helicopter was there and House got Emily to the car as the paramedics got Chase to the helicopter. House stayed and let Emily watch the copter take off and then started the car. He pulled out his cell phone. "You want to call Aunt Lisa and let her know you're okay?" he asked. She shook her head, she was so tired and she only wanted her daddy.

House got her settled in the car and she was asleep within moments. House called Wilson and Cuddy and let them know what was going on. Wilson was going to head to the hospital to observe the surgery and call and let them know what was going on. Cuddy was planning on staying at Chase's and waiting for them to get home. But Emily had woken up and demanded to be taken to the hospital. So he called her back and they all met at the hospital. By the time House and Emily got there, Chase was already in surgery.

House, Cuddy, and a sleeping Emily waited in House's office. House and Cuddy spent a little time in the conference room and House filled her in on what had happened. Now, they were just waiting for Wilson to come and give them an update. House was playing on his gameboy and Cuddy had picked up the sleeping Emily and now held her on her lap.

Finally, Wilson entered the room and both Cuddy and House looked up anxiously. "He's out of surgery and doing fine. They expect him to make a full recovery." Cuddy breathed a sigh of relief and the movement woke Emily.

"Daddy?" she asked, blinking and looking around. House moved to her.

"Emily, do you remember what happened?" he asked. She thought for a moment, then a scared look crossed her face and she nodded. Her eyes wide and filling with tears, she looked to the adults in the room.

"Is Daddy okay?" she asked.

"Yes. He's going to be fine." House assured her.

"Can I see him?" she asked, yawning. House looked to Wilson, who nodded.

"He's pretty sleepy, Em, but we can go see him." Wilson told her. He reached out to pick her up and carry her, but House took her hand first.

"Let's go." he said, leading the child from the room. Both Wilson and Cuddy exchanged a look. When they entered the room, Chase's eyes were closed but House could tell he wasn't sleeping, his breathing was too rapid. "Daddy?" Emily called, quietly.

Chase blinked heavily against the drugs currently pumping through his system. When he saw Emily, he smiled widely, a lopsided smile. "Hi baby." He slurred. Emily didn't seem to care.

"Are you okay, Daddy?" she asked him, glancing at his bandaged leg.

"I'm perfect, now that you're here." he told her and this time, she smiled widely. She walked over to his bed and Chase tried to pat the bed. She climbed up, being careful of his leg and snuggled herself into his chest. Chase sighed contentedly, clearly unable to keep his eyes open even a second longer. Within seconds, both of them were asleep.

House started to leave the room, when a nurse came in. Seeing Emily in his bed, she frowned and moved over to the bed. House caught her wrist. "Wake either one of them and I'll have you assigned to Diagnostics." he threatened.

The nurse glared at him, but left the two of them in peace. House left them alone and headed back to his office. He'd get Cuddy to make sure that Emily could stay with her father.


	16. Chapter 16

**_Okay, I know this has taken forever, but here's my excuse...it's the last chapter. I have had SO much fun writing this story. I originally had planned to take this a lot further (see the author's note at the end) but in the end, it kind of wrote itself in a different direction. Personally, I like it. I think there are going to be a couple of one-shots later about different things that happen, but I'm not sure yet. Enjoy!_**

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Chase was in the hospital for two days (Emily never leaving his side) before driving all the nurses crazy and finally being released. Cuddy signed his release because House had agreed to stay with him for a few days. She joked that it was a double bonus, Chase got to go home and she got House out of her hospital for a while.

Physically, both Chase and Emily were doing fine. Chase's leg was in a cast and he was on crutches and Emily was not hurt at all. However, it seemed that Emily's day with Lauren had really traumatized her. She spoke only when her Daddy or House spoke to her. She never initiated conversation and she wouldn't reply to anyone other than those two.

Privately, House wondered why Emily spoke to him at all. It would seem to him that Chase would be the only she talked to. When he mentioned that to Chase, Chase just smiled and laughed a little. "House, you saved her. You were the first person she saw who she trusted after Lauren took her. You made sure her daddy was alive. In her eyes, you're her hero."

That really shocked House. He had never been anyone's hero. Well, he did save people's lives, but that didn't count. He didn't know them and he never saw them again after he sent them on their way. It took him nearly the whole two days to realize that the feeling he was feeling was pride.

When they left the hospital, a nurse pushed the wheelchair with Chase and Emily (in Chase's lap) and House followed behind. Wilson had come to pick them up and drive them back to Chase's place. He also had dinner cooking for them because he knew they all needed real food and House would never cook, even in this parallel universe where he was playing nurse to Chase.

Wilson had asked Chase what Emily's favorite meal was and he told him meatloaf. The ride home was silent. Emily refused to sit in her own seat, demanding to be in her daddy's lap. No one argued. Chase was happy to be home and expected that Emily would be, too, but she seemed pretty indifferent. It didn't seem to matter to her as long as Chase was holding her or holding her hand.

While they ate, Wilson tried to make conversation, but Emily wouldn't speak at all. Halfway through the meal she fell asleep at the table. The three men exchanged a glance and without a word, Wilson got up, picked up the sleeping girl and carried her to her bedroom. Chase hopped after him, awkward on the crutches. Wilson put her on the bed and Chase gently tucked her in, kissing her forehead tenderly, and then tried to leave quietly.

When he left her room, he saw that House had moved to the couch and Wilson was cleaning up the dishes. "You don't have to do that." Chase protested. Wilson grinned at him from the kitchen.

"And you're planning on carrying dishes how? If you haven't noticed, you need both hands to get around." He joked. Chase ducked his head, blushed, and grinned. "And if I leave them, they'll never get done. I guarantee you that House won't do it."

"Thanks." Chase said, trying to lower himself gracefully to the couch, but failing and falling. House laughed at him and Chase glared back at him.

"You remind me of me when I first got out of the hospital after the infarction." House said and the words immediately sent a quiet through the room. House shook the amber bottle of pills. "Want a vicoden? Start growing a beard and I can have my very own mini-me." That caused the tension to break a little.

Chase reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out his own bottle of pills. "No, got my own, thanks." he said. House reached across the couch and grabbed the pills, reading the label.

"Tylenol 3?" he scoffed. "They didn't even give you the good stuff." Chase snatched it back.

"It's all I need. I have a very high tolerance for pain." he said. By that time, Wilson had made it back into the livingroom and sat in the recliner. There was a small comfortable silence until Chase spoke up. "She's not talking." he said, very quietly. Both House and Wilson stayed quiet. "I don't know what to do with her. Do I take her to a psychologist? Do I just let it go and hope she starts talking?" He turned suddenly angry. "I hate that Lauren broke her!"

"Lauren didn't break her." Wilson said. "She's just...scared. I'd give her some time. If she doesn't start talking again in a week, then I'd take her to a psychologist."

"I wouldn't take her at all. She'll get over it." House piped in. Chase sighed, rubbing his hand over his face.

"Three days ago, she was a happy, healthy little girl. Her whole life has changed now. Lauren's been arrested and I'm pressing charges. Sean says she thinks that Emily will have to testify to a judge." Chase hesitated. "I'm afraid to hear what she has to say. I haven't asked her what happened yet." he admitted.

House and Wilson exchanged a glance. "Could you ask Sean to ask her?" WIlson suggested.

"No, I'm going to have to ask her. I'm going to have know, but I don't want to. I don't want to know what that horrible woman did to traumatize my daughter like this." Chase sighed.

Both House and Wilson were silent for a moment. Then House spoke up. "You know, she might not have actually done anything to her. It might just be the fact that she was separated from you, Maddie, everyone she knows. Then she saw you shot in front of her eyes."

"Been sneaking in psych rotations when no one was looking?" Chase scoffed, but he thought about what House had said. He might be right, Lauren might not have done anything to her. "Do you really think Lauren didn't harm her?"

"I don't know. I don' t think you can know, until you talk to her." Wilson said. He noticed Chase stifling a yawn and told the other two that it was getting late and that he was going to head home. Chase thanked him again and he left House and Chase alone.

"House, I want you to take my bed. It'll be easier for me to get off the couch anyways." Chase told him. House nodded, took the hint, and left Chase alone in his livingroom. Chase tried to settle down on the couch, but he couldn't sleep so he got up and headed into his daughter's room. He tried to be quiet, but the crutches he was relying on didn't allow that. He hopped into Emily's room and saw that Emily hadn't moved from where Wilson had placed her. He hopped next to her bed and eased himself down next to her.

Her eyes opened when the bed dipped. "Shh, baby, it's just me. Go back to sleep, sweetheart."

Content that it was just her daddy, she snuggled next to him and closed her eyes. "Don't leave, Daddy." she mumbled, sleepily.

"I won't." he assured her. Within seconds, she was asleep again. Holding his daughter, Chase fell asleep, too. The next morning, he woke with terrible pain in his leg. He wondered vaguely if this was how House felt every morning, but quickly pushed that thought aside. He tried to shift his daughter without waking her, but she woke anyways. She blinked sleepily at him and smiled.

"Hi daddy." she said. He leaned forward and kissed her.

"Hi baby. Can you do daddy a favor?" he asked. She nodded. "Go to the bathroom and get daddy a cup of water." She nodded again and jumped up to obey him. She was back in a minute and he had already fished out his bottle of pills. He took two and then patted her bed and she climbed back in next to him. "How are you Em?" he asked.

"Fine Daddy." she said, snuggling into his side.

"Emily, I need to ask you some questions about when you were with your mommy. I need you to promise me that you'll tell me the truth, okay?" he said. He felt Emily stiffen at the mention of her mom, but she agreed. She trusted her daddy. "Did your mommy hurt you at all?" he asked her.

Emily drew a shuddering breath. "Yes." she said. Chase felt his heart sink, but kept his voice even, so as not to scare his daughter.

"What did she do?" he asked, gently.

"She hit me in the face." She said, burying her face into Chase's side. Chase put his hand on her chin and lifter her face so he could look in her eyes.

"Emily, I'm very proud of you for telling me the truth. You are a very brave girl and I love you so, so much!" he said. Finally, he saw her smile and he felt relief wash through him

"She said that you didn't love me anymore. She said that no one loved me. She said I'd never see you again." Emily confessed. Chase held her tightly.

"I'm so sorry Emily. You know that I love you more than anything in the whole world, right? And your Uncle House and Uncle Wilson love you, and Aunt Lisa loves you. Maddie and Miss Patty both love you, too. I don't know why your mommy did what she did, but I will never let anything like that happen ever again." She hugged him.

"I love you, too Daddy." She moved off the bed and to the small table that held her coloring books, paper, and crayons. "Is Uncle House still here?" she asked. Chase hefted himself off the bed and hopped to the door.

"Yes, he's going to stay for a couple of days to help Daddy." he said, thinking to himself how weird that was.

"Good." she said, pulling out a plain piece of paper and some crayons. Chase felt relieved that she was becoming herself again. He hopped out to the livingroom and saw House sitting on the couch.

"How much did you hear?" Chase asked, not irritated, just curious.

"All of it. It could have been worse. I think she's going to be fine." House said. Chase smiled and nodded. It really could have been a lot worse. Fifteen minutes later, Emily came out with a hand made thank you card and shyly handed it to House. Flabbergasted, House accepted the card and even hugged little Emily. Later, when Chase told WIlson, House insisted that Chase was on drugs and didn't know what he was talking about.

Chase was off work for the next three weeks. He couldn't really perform surgery on crutches. He spent the time with his daughter, enjoying every minute with her. House stayed for a couple of days, before leaving them alone. House had never really had a family, but neither had Chase. They kind of became family to each other, Chase dragging him over for dinners, birthdays and holidays. House never admitted it out loud, but he loved Emily more than he ever thought he could love someone. He also cared for Chase, but wouldn't admit that either.

Before Chase came back to work, House offered him his old place on the diagnostics team, but Chase declined. He had come to realize that House was right and that he needed to grow as a doctor. The year that Emily turned seven, Chase was offered a position as a senior attending surgeon and his hours changed radically. He was able to chose the hours he wanted to work and took himself off emergency on-call. He let Maddie go as a nanny, mostly because Emily no longer required a full time nanny. She was in school all day and he was home by the time she done. However, she was still his most frequent baby-sitter and they kept in close touch.

Some days Chase had trouble believing that he was so lucky. He had a beautiful, vibrant daughter, a wonderful career, and good friends. Wilson once told him that he had gotten all his bad luck out in the first half of his life and so it was right that everything was going smoothly now. When Emily was nine, Chase got married. Her name was Kimberly and he met her through Cuddy, of all people. Emily loved her and she loved Emily.

If someone had asked Chase how he thought his life would go, this would have never been the answer. But he wouldn't trade it for the world.

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**_I know this is the second author's note, but as it's the last chapter, I feel like I can do that lol! First of all, thank you SOOOOOOOOO much, especially all of you who've stuck with me from the beginning. I have two new stories in the works...one is a sequel to Fragmented Pieces and one is a new one. Plus I have a couple of ideas for one-shots based on this story. I really want to write the wedding scene and maybe a few others. Emily has been so much fun for me and I have loved every minute of writing this story. My original intention was to really traumatize her from the Lauren debacle, but when I wrote it, it didn't seem right. I re-worked it four times, and then finally, decided to try what you see here. I hope that you guys like it as much as I do and as always, please, please review! Thanks again! I'll see you soon! _**


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